Is ATS worth the lifestyle hassle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid did elope from ATS before covid. They were being bullied by some kids and not treated well by a pe teacher apparently.

We moved from a neighborhood school that was terrible and ATS has been a total turnaround for our family.

I did want to report that my child did Lexia and a math game on IPad daily this year but I got the impression it was an APS wide mandate. (I asked).

ATS is the perfect school for those not too keen on the iPads. What’s unique about ATS is that it always bucks the latest educational trends or fads. It was created as a response to parent outcry over the open classroom movement in the 70s when physical walls were removed between the classrooms for a more communal learning arrangement.

Except it doesn't really. They follow the same curriculum as the other schools. They went down the Lucy Calkins rabbit hole same as everyone else.

Actually they didn't follow Lucy Calkins. They have been phonics based from the start.

[Anonymous]

ATS family here! My kindergartner used the ipad during the school day twice a week. They had to leave them at school - I think all the schools have the kids on them to some degree now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid did elope from ATS before covid. They were being bullied by some kids and not treated well by a pe teacher apparently.

We moved from a neighborhood school that was terrible and ATS has been a total turnaround for our family.

I did want to report that my child did Lexia and a math game on IPad daily this year but I got the impression it was an APS wide mandate. (I asked).

ATS is the perfect school for those not too keen on the iPads. What’s unique about ATS is that it always bucks the latest educational trends or fads. It was created as a response to parent outcry over the open classroom movement in the 70s when physical walls were removed between the classrooms for a more communal learning arrangement.

Except it doesn't really. They follow the same curriculum as the other schools. They went down the Lucy Calkins rabbit hole same as everyone else.

Actually they didn't follow Lucy Calkins. They have been phonics based from the start.

And they’re also not switching to mastery based assessments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it doesn't work you can go back to neighborhood but you can't go the other way. How old is DC?

This!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are so thankful that we didn't get into the lottery schools that we applied to. Going to the neighborhood school was the best thing socially. My kid made all kinds of neighborhood friends during those years and they are still friends today. Now that my kids are in high school, I don't think elementary school education is that big of a deal. All of the Arlington schools are good.

Did your kids have multiple classmates eloping and throwing chairs? Anyone curse out the teacher on a regular basis?

Kids are eloping?? Where are they going to elope? Who is marrying an elementary kid? I’ve heard things like this happen in VA, but surprised it’s happening in Arlington!

I guess you are not familiar with the term eloping in the educational context. It means leaving the classroom or the building. It's a huge safety risk to that student, and can be a challenge to address.

Maybe try educating yourself next time, comments like yours trying to be funny just make you look really uninformed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are so thankful that we didn't get into the lottery schools that we applied to. Going to the neighborhood school was the best thing socially. My kid made all kinds of neighborhood friends during those years and they are still friends today. Now that my kids are in high school, I don't think elementary school education is that big of a deal. All of the Arlington schools are good.

Did your kids have multiple classmates eloping and throwing chairs? Anyone curse out the teacher on a regular basis?

Kids are eloping?? Where are they going to elope? Who is marrying an elementary kid? I’ve heard things like this happen in VA, but surprised it’s happening in Arlington!

I guess you are not familiar with the term eloping in the educational context. It means leaving the classroom or the building. It's a huge safety risk to that student, and can be a challenge to address.

Maybe try educating yourself next time, comments like yours trying to be funny just make you look really uninformed.

DP. I guess we're all supposed to look-up words we think are misspelled or being used wrong and research them every time just in case it's a field-specific jargon? Comments like yours just show your snotty arrogance. Forgive us for not knowing "eloping" was a specific term used in educational settings. Your initial clarifying comment was lovely. Then you had to make it nasty. Perhaps that's a DCUM rule of which I am also unaware and should have researched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid did elope from ATS before covid. They were being bullied by some kids and not treated well by a pe teacher apparently.

We moved from a neighborhood school that was terrible and ATS has been a total turnaround for our family.

I did want to report that my child did Lexia and a math game on IPad daily this year but I got the impression it was an APS wide mandate. (I asked).

ATS is the perfect school for those not too keen on the iPads. What’s unique about ATS is that it always bucks the latest educational trends or fads. It was created as a response to parent outcry over the open classroom movement in the 70s when physical walls were removed between the classrooms for a more communal learning arrangement.

Except it doesn't really. They follow the same curriculum as the other schools. They went down the Lucy Calkins rabbit hole same as everyone else.

The county forced them to use Lucy Caulkins. Did you also know that they did double literacy and had phonics in addition to LC? It's true. So ATS kids doubled up on literacy and those who needed extra help got it, and still get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A kid did elope from ATS before covid. They were being bullied by some kids and not treated well by a pe teacher apparently.

We moved from a neighborhood school that was terrible and ATS has been a total turnaround for our family.

I did want to report that my child did Lexia and a math game on IPad daily this year but I got the impression it was an APS wide mandate. (I asked).

Was the math game Reflex? If so, it's fantastic. It's equivalent to spending 5-10 minutes on multiplication flash cards, but better. I'm very anti-screen, but it's one of the best programs I've seen. Each kid has to get a "green light" and then is done for the day. The program repeats facts that you get wrong, circling back, until you know every fact very quickly. It really is a fantastic way to get fast at your multiplication and division facts. Hopefully they use it at ATS too.

I hate Lexia. It's super slow and not time effective, even if people swear the content is good.

Yes. My child calls it the math game but it's reflex and she loves it. Has dyslexia too so learning those facts is tough.

[Anonymous]

What is so “great” about your neighborhood school? In your post you are only listing negatives??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child got into ATS. Our neighborhood school is a title one school and we never expected to get off the wait list. I know from the other thread that ATS is also very diverse which we want and like about our school.

We’re torn because we like our neighborhood school but we know ATS has a great reputation. Our child is pretty advanced already and we’re worried about them getting bored. APS is relying way too much on iPads. Not sure what it’s like at ATS but we hope they are more challenging (more “traditional?”).

But we both work full time and it will be hard to make the trek to pick up every day (bus home is not an option for us).

Really feeling torn about chasing something better, leaving a great school community, making our lives harder, but want to make sure our kid has their needs met too.

This isn't really true this school year. APS pulled way back on ipads this year. I have a kid in a neighborhood elementary and middle school and the difference was notable compared to pandemic years and last year.

In any case, I wouldn't use that as decision factor. I know a teacher at ATS. It's not really that much different than any other school. Same curriculum. They're required to take an instrument it's not optional. Max class sizes every year. The major factor is you get a very self-selected student body so much less chance of kids with uninvolved or checked out parents and the issues that tend to come with that. That's why everyone thinks it's so great. You weed out a lot of issues that way.

The significance of the latter point (same as other options) has shrunken over the last years I think, due to technology. What used to require two separate in person visits and an application is now literally 5 clicks and less than 2 minutes. Also, some APS schools etc even do that for (and with) parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our child got into ATS. Our neighborhood school is a title one school and we never expected to get off the wait list. I know from the other thread that ATS is also very diverse which we want and like about our school.

We’re torn because we like our neighborhood school but we know ATS has a great reputation. Our child is pretty advanced already and we’re worried about them getting bored. APS is relying way too much on iPads. Not sure what it’s like at ATS but we hope they are more challenging (more “traditional?”).

But we both work full time and it will be hard to make the trek to pick up every day (bus home is not an option for us).

Really feeling torn about chasing something better, leaving a great school community, making our lives harder, but want to make sure our kid has their needs met too.

This isn't really true this school year. APS pulled way back on ipads this year. I have a kid in a neighborhood elementary and middle school and the difference was notable compared to pandemic years and last year.

In any case, I wouldn't use that as decision factor. I know a teacher at ATS. It's not really that much different than any other school. Same curriculum. They're required to take an instrument it's not optional. Max class sizes every year. The major factor is you get a very self-selected student body so much less chance of kids with uninvolved or checked out parents and the issues that tend to come with that. That's why everyone thinks it's so great. You weed out a lot of issues that way.

The significance of the latter point (same as other options) has shrunken over the last years I think, due to technology. What used to require two separate in person visits and an application is now literally 5 clicks and less than 2 minutes. Also, some APS schools etc even do that for (and with) parents.

Agreed. Aside, where is the school in Arlington with the uninvolved checked out parents? I’d trade some of the helicopter parents at our school for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is so “great” about your neighborhood school? In your post you are only listing negatives??

We love the diversity and school culture of our south Arlington school.

We always thought our kid’s needs were being met and never considered an option school. But since the pandemic a few things are not as good as before.

We never see homework anymore. Older child brought home simple packets before pandemic. We don’t even care about homework for homework’s sake but we like to see what they are working on. We don’t see that anymore at all. And iPads. Before the pandemic, little kids never got them. Now all grades have them and at least at our school they are being used alot from what I can tell. I know they have them at ATS but we hope they rely on them less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I guess you are not familiar with the term eloping in the educational context. It means leaving the classroom or the building. It's a huge safety risk to that student, and can be a challenge to address.

Maybe try educating yourself next time, comments like yours trying to be funny just make you look really uninformed.



DP. I guess we're all supposed to look-up words we think are misspelled or being used wrong and research them every time just in case it's a field-specific jargon? Comments like yours just show your snotty arrogance. Forgive us for not knowing "eloping" was a specific term used in educational settings. Your initial clarifying comment was lovely. Then you had to make it nasty. Perhaps that's a DCUM rule of which I am also unaware and should have researched

NP. Elopement is not just an educational term. It is also used in medical and clinical settings, especially with regard to people with autism or dementia, who sometimes run or wander away from caregivers. It can be very dangerous and traumatic for all concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I guess you are not familiar with the term eloping in the educational context. It means leaving the classroom or the building. It's a huge safety risk to that student, and can be a challenge to address.

Maybe try educating yourself next time, comments like yours trying to be funny just make you look really uninformed.



DP. I guess we're all supposed to look-up words we think are misspelled or being used wrong and research them every time just in case it's a field-specific jargon? Comments like yours just show your snotty arrogance. Forgive us for not knowing "eloping" was a specific term used in educational settings. Your initial clarifying comment was lovely. Then you had to make it nasty. Perhaps that's a DCUM rule of which I am also unaware and should have researched



NP. Elopement is not just an educational term. It is also used in medical and clinical settings, especially with regard to people with autism or dementia, who sometimes run or wander away from caregivers. It can be very dangerous and traumatic for all concerned.

NP. Yes, looking up words you don't know or "being used wrong" is always a good idea, so that you don't make an ass of yourself.