South Arlington schools

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]South Arlington public schools get a bad rap. Is this deserved? Does the reputation apply to all the elementary/middle/high schools, or are there some good ones? [/quote]

Rich people from north of lee highway don't like them.

Elementary school:
Some are great, some less so. Same up north, but the test scores are better.

[b]My kid went to a S. Arlington middle school and I was very happy. I live in NA. We were zoned for it and we have nothing negative to say about the experience.

HS:
I wish my kid were at Wakefield instead of the NA High School he attends. Too late to change. People seem to be happy with Wakefield and many people choose it.[/quote][/b]

I'm guessing this child went to Kenmore MS and is now at Washington-Lee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington public schools get a bad rap. Is this deserved? Does the reputation apply to all the elementary/middle/high schools, or are there some good ones?

Rich people from north of lee highway don't like them.

Elementary school:
Some are great, some less so. Same up north, but the test scores are better.

My kid went to a S. Arlington middle school and I was very happy. I live in NA. We were zoned for it and we have nothing negative to say about the experience.

HS:
I wish my kid were at Wakefield instead of the NA High School he attends. Too late to change. People seem to be happy with Wakefield and many people choose it.

I'm guessing this child went to Kenmore MS and is now at Washington-Lee.

or TJ -> WL, or KM -> YT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people have against racial/cultural/SES diversity?

Obviously something. Wish I knew what it was. Fear, I guess.

Pretty much. My kids attend a title 1 school, have done really well there and we have been very happy with the teachers. They challenge teh kids who need more challenging while working with kids who need more help. Half our neighborhood does private because many "want a catholic education" code for "school with more white kids with higher SES backgrounds."

Not necessarily. We did private and it was code for "the kids behavior problems are over the top"

Pretending that there are not serious problems in schools with "diversity" is just stupid.

There are lots of problems. A good portion of the school admin, teachers and work is really dedicated to social services. When you have to spend 50-75% of time on those issues, it doesn't leave much time for education. So schools in N. Arl, the teachers and admins are not worrying about little Larla not having enough to eat and then have to spend time finding something for Larla to eat, contacting her parents, helping them get set up with food stamps, etc and so forth. Then there is little Larlo who doesn't have enough schools supplies, and Larlalette didn't have shoes and keep going 50times over and the whole school day has been used up and nothing has been taught.

did you actually try out the public school before going private because I can tell you none of my neighbors did. We have not at all dealt with anything you are describing. The excuses you made are for the most part assumptions about lower income kids. An no teachers aren't running around worried if kids are hungry because those kids are getting free breakfast and lunch. There is also a program where kids are sent home on weekends with meals.

not saying there aren't any problems, but I don't at all think they are on the magnitude you are trying to portray.

Of course they didn't go to the neighborhood school. They are describing a characature of an impoverished school. The children in my title 1 neighborhood school are very well cared for. They may not have expensive clothes, but they are clean, neat, and fed. The welfare of their children is priority number 1 in our immigrant communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people have against racial/cultural/SES diversity?

Obviously something. Wish I knew what it was. Fear, I guess.

Pretty much. My kids attend a title 1 school, have done really well there and we have been very happy with the teachers. They challenge teh kids who need more challenging while working with kids who need more help. Half our neighborhood does private because many "want a catholic education" code for "school with more white kids with higher SES backgrounds."

Not necessarily. We did private and it was code for "the kids behavior problems are over the top"

Pretending that there are not serious problems in schools with "diversity" is just stupid.

There are lots of problems. A good portion of the school admin, teachers and work is really dedicated to social services. When you have to spend 50-75% of time on those issues, it doesn't leave much time for education. So schools in N. Arl, the teachers and admins are not worrying about little Larla not having enough to eat and then have to spend time finding something for Larla to eat, contacting her parents, helping them get set up with food stamps, etc and so forth. Then there is little Larlo who doesn't have enough schools supplies, and Larlalette didn't have shoes and keep going 50times over and the whole school day has been used up and nothing has been taught.

did you actually try out the public school before going private because I can tell you none of my neighbors did. We have not at all dealt with anything you are describing. The excuses you made are for the most part assumptions about lower income kids. An no teachers aren't running around worried if kids are hungry because those kids are getting free breakfast and lunch. There is also a program where kids are sent home on weekends with meals.

not saying there aren't any problems, but I don't at all think they are on the magnitude you are trying to portray.

Of course they didn't go to the neighborhood school. They are describing a characature of an impoverished school. The children in my title 1 neighborhood school are very well cared for. They may not have expensive clothes, but they are clean, neat, and fed. The welfare of their children is priority number 1 in our immigrant communities.

Yes, as a matter of fact we did try out our public school and this is how I know first hand what happens.

I am I am not referring to have expensive clothes. I am talking about kids who did have winter coats or long pants or shoes without holes. These were real issues that the school social worker dealt with every single day.

One thing I have observed is parents start out very happy in K and 1st but things begin to change once they reach the older grades. for parents looking for feedback on schools, I would check with families in your neighborhood who have kids who are in grades 3, 4 and 5 and even those who went off to middle school. Sometimes the shine of elementary wears off in middle school and parents are more realistic about their experience.

[Anonymous]

Whatever

Choice schools are barely an option anymore. They will redraw boundaries once the new elementary is built. More upper middle class families continue to choose south Arlington over Fairfax...
South Arlington elementaries will gentrify. The board basically said they have gone too far on Columbia pike. That nonsense should hopefully stop now.
The tipping point is probably 5- 10 years away, but it's coming. It's what all of the hippy dippy boomers have feared. South Arlington is gentrifying. the high school is already considered fine by most. Metro being a complete shit show, just makes the change happen sooner. Three babies were born on my street this year. They all plan to use APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever

Choice schools are barely an option anymore. They will redraw boundaries once the new elementary is built. More upper middle class families continue to choose south Arlington over Fairfax...
South Arlington elementaries will gentrify. The board basically said they have gone too far on Columbia pike. That nonsense should hopefully stop now.
The tipping point is probably 5- 10 years away, but it's coming. It's what all of the hippy dippy boomers have feared. South Arlington is gentrifying. the high school is already considered fine by most. Metro being a complete shit show, just makes the change happen sooner. Three babies were born on my street this year. They all plan to use APS.

Those babies are clearly gifted. They will be a credit to south Arlington schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever

Choice schools are barely an option anymore. They will redraw boundaries once the new elementary is built. More upper middle class families continue to choose south Arlington over Fairfax...
South Arlington elementaries will gentrify. The board basically said they have gone too far on Columbia pike. That nonsense should hopefully stop now.
The tipping point is probably 5- 10 years away, but it's coming. It's what all of the hippy dippy boomers have feared. South Arlington is gentrifying. the high school is already considered fine by most. Metro being a complete shit show, just makes the change happen sooner. Three babies were born on my street this year. They all plan to use APS.

Those babies are clearly gifted. They will be a credit to south Arlington schools.

They'll be a lot cheaper and easier to educate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, as a matter of fact we did try out our public school and this is how I know first hand what happens.

I am I am not referring to have expensive clothes. I am talking about kids who did have winter coats or long pants or shoes without holes. These were real issues that the school social worker dealt with every single day.

One thing I have observed is parents start out very happy in K and 1st but things begin to change once they reach the older grades. for parents looking for feedback on schools, I would check with families in your neighborhood who have kids who are in grades 3, 4 and 5 and even those who went off to middle school. Sometimes the shine of elementary wears off in middle school and parents are more realistic about their experience.

are there more poor kids in 3-5 than in K-2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, as a matter of fact we did try out our public school and this is how I know first hand what happens.

I am I am not referring to have expensive clothes. I am talking about kids who did have winter coats or long pants or shoes without holes. These were real issues that the school social worker dealt with every single day.

One thing I have observed is parents start out very happy in K and 1st but things begin to change once they reach the older grades. for parents looking for feedback on schools, I would check with families in your neighborhood who have kids who are in grades 3, 4 and 5 and even those who went off to middle school. Sometimes the shine of elementary wears off in middle school and parents are more realistic about their experience.

are there more poor kids in 3-5 than in K-2?

Maybe? I think what PP might have been alluding to is the number of families who try the local school and it seems fine in K-1 because you have nothing to compare it to, and because parents typically don't expect academic rigor for this age group. But then you hear about the family that moved around 2nd or 3rd grade and they found out that their kid is a YEAR behind in math at their new school, or that they are now in the lowest reading group when they had been the classroom reading star at their previous school and all assurances from the previous school were that everything was on track and kid was doing very well. That kind of disparity is unsettling, and I understand why parents zoned for the lowest performing schools, where reports out of the school are not uniformly positive, question whether the average child's needs will be met, or could be met. And once parents have this kind of information, if they have the choice, some have been leaving. Probably not enough to be statistically significant, but enough for the anecdotes to make their way through the grapevine and scare other families. Not all S. Arlington schools are like this (not even all the Tile 1 schools are), but some are.

[Anonymous]

Meh
Curriculum is the same through out the county. Either your kid is hitting benchmarks or not. I seriously doubt a superstar south Arlington kid is going to be a year behind if they transfer to Nottingham.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meh
Curriculum is the same through out the county. Either your kid is hitting benchmarks or not. I seriously doubt a superstar south Arlington kid is going to be a year behind if they transfer to Nottingham.

If that's true then why do people pay a half million dollars more to live in boundary for Nottingham or Jamestown versus Henry or Randolph?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh
Curriculum is the same through out the county. Either your kid is hitting benchmarks or not. I seriously doubt a superstar south Arlington kid is going to be a year behind if they transfer to Nottingham.

If that's true then why do people pay a half million dollars more to live in boundary for Nottingham or Jamestown versus Henry or Randolph?

150k- 250k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh
Curriculum is the same through out the county. Either your kid is hitting benchmarks or not. I seriously doubt a superstar south Arlington kid is going to be a year behind if they transfer to Nottingham.

If that's true then why do people pay a half million dollars more to live in boundary for Nottingham or Jamestown versus Henry or Randolph?

Because white people. It really matters to a lot of buyers so it jacks up the price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh
Curriculum is the same through out the county. Either your kid is hitting benchmarks or not. I seriously doubt a superstar south Arlington kid is going to be a year behind if they transfer to Nottingham.

If that's true then why do people pay a half million dollars more to live in boundary for Nottingham or Jamestown versus Henry or Randolph?

Because white people. It really matters to a lot of buyers so it jacks up the price.

It does. Not half a million.

[Anonymous]

The PP who mentioned that the real difference starts in 2nd grade is spot on. And, to the people who doubt that if one waits too long to leave an under performing SA school, kids will be behind in a high performing school - don't opine unless you have seen it. I know 8 families from my kid's school that left for NA or falls church over the last 5 years. Each kid was behind, lacked the requisite study skills and was no longer the star of,the class in the New school. Yes, same curriculum, but the kids are expected to master the material at different times. The depth of instruction is much different in NA schools because the kids are prepared to learn it. Kids do homework and have additional help at home so more advanced instruction in class. This is generally not the case in SA schools. And the schools I am talking about are not Henry and Oakridge.

Some parts of SA will continue to gentrify, others will not. West of George Mason and the area just to its east is a lost cause.