4th comprehensive Arlington high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Arlington Tech is unlikely to ever shed the vocational school tag. This isn’t necessarily fair given what they are trying to do with the program and I love vocational schools. But perceptions will persist and it won’t really appeal to the Type A demographic that dominates Arlington.

Unless they pump a ton of money into science labs (or things like that) and somehow make it “elite,” the number of kids zoned to Yorktown who go there will be painfully low. It won’t make a dent into overcrowding. And, because of that, the money put into it will be a waste.

The kids going there now have come pretty equally from Yorktown, W-L, Wakefield zones.

I've heard anecdotes of students returning to their neighborhood schools -- is anyone tracking how many do that, and whether the returns are also balanced among schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Arlington Tech is unlikely to ever shed the vocational school tag. This isn’t necessarily fair given what they are trying to do with the program and I love vocational schools. But perceptions will persist and it won’t really appeal to the Type A demographic that dominates Arlington.

Unless they pump a ton of money into science labs (or things like that) and somehow make it “elite,” the number of kids zoned to Yorktown who go there will be painfully low. It won’t make a dent into overcrowding. And, because of that, the money put into it will be a waste.

The kids going there now have come pretty equally from Yorktown, W-L, Wakefield zones.

I've heard anecdotes of students returning to their neighborhood schools -- is anyone tracking how many do that, and whether the returns are also balanced among schools?

There have been a handful who've left - got off the HB waitlist, moved, or returned to home school. I know a couple left in the 1st week (their parents made them 'try' it). I think it was two who left at end of 1st quarter, neither to go to Yorktown.

I realize Yorktown has more than it's fair share of type-A and snobby parents but I don't think it's to the degree that it will limit growth of the program with the original plan of 200 kids per grade. But, filling a larger school will obviously require more buy-in, and the ability to offer a lot more non-tech classes/activities right at the school. A lot of the hurdle right now is not the program itself but that going there means you can't participate in band, orchestra, art classes, etc. And there have been some difficulties with the going back to home-school for extracurriculars. A lot of the long-term growth will depend on 1) the college placement of the first couple classes and 2) the quality of the facility they build there.

[Anonymous]

APS has a walk zone map for the Career Center.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-FEQerA0GASuh_Ej9s6zBf7IROLwIZiCYsn8rbiUt20/edit?usp=sharing

It seems to pulling a lot from North Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS has a walk zone map for the Career Center.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-FEQerA0GASuh_Ej9s6zBf7IROLwIZiCYsn8rbiUt20/edit?usp=sharing

It seems to pulling a lot from North Arlington.

All schools have a walk zone, even option schools. They aren't going to offer bus service to anyone who could walk. That does not mean it's going to be a comprehensive HS with a neighborhood boundary. If they do make it a neighborhood school, it had better have ALL the amenities of the other schools AND they need to make a creative boundary that leaves Wakefiled with more than a couple MC neighborhoods in its zone.

[Anonymous]

It occurs to me that any way a 4th HS happens, Arlington Forest and Glen Carlyn are going to be rezoned to Wakefield because they'll have to expand that boundary N if the school loses all its SE PU's to a new HS at the Career Center.

[Anonymous]

There is a meeting tonight if you have strong opinion about this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It occurs to me that any way a 4th HS happens, Arlington Forest and Glen Carlyn are going to be rezoned to Wakefield because they'll have to expand that boundary N if the school loses all its SE PU's to a new HS at the Career Center.

No units deserve it more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a meeting tonight if you have strong opinion about this

Where? I only know about the walkzone meeting (totally unrelated).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of folks seem to think the Career Center site is a shoe-in for a fourth comprehensive high school. But a lot of people think Kenmore makes more sense, regardless of the current traffic complaint. So, given the current process to add seats to the Career Center site and the very limited budget and phased approach to increasing capacity there, why should that be the location for a fourth comprehensive high school? Considering the various programs and the elementary school currently there, and the acreage being less than a third of the acreage at Kenmore, how/why would this make sense? How/why would this be the most efficient and feasible solution to high school capacity in the timeframe needed?

It’s not just a “severe” traffic complaint, and the fact that the local neighborhood fought tooth and nails against this in full force.
In addition to that, Murphy’s staff had done a comprehensive analysis of several sites last year and found that the main problem was a “lack of egress” and that the property borders to Fairfax County and issues that pertained to that. With that full analysis Murphy’s staff ruled the Kenmore site completely out for further consideration for a high school or any other school (they had hoped for an additional elementary school there at one time, too, which had been shot down, too). You can probably still find the papers of that analysis online. It’s not happening at the Kenmore site. That ship has sailed.

It's sailed, yes. But not because of the reasons you cite. Those are just the frosting to add to the rationale not to pushback against the neighborhood. Glencarlyn is the selfish neighborhood - not Arlington Heights which HAS asked for the high school to be built in their neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But won't the Career Center remain an option school, not a neighborhood school? Is the school board's plan to require the Career Center, which I thought was being billed as a hands-on learning almost vo-tech type school with no arts or sports options on site as a neighborhood school for local residents?

That's what the plan was. Now the immediate neighborhood sees an opportunity to grab the school for themselves to create a wealthier HS, for themselves.

That is a very inaccurate picture of the neighborhood's advocacy. The neighborhood wants a neighborhood comprehensive high school in addition to Arl Tech and Career Center. They are not trying to grab the Career Center's programming for itself. And the Career Center is not the "hands-on learning almost vo-tech" program the commenter before you refers to. The Career Center is career tech which also extends access to various classes and programs to the other high schools (pilot training, engineering, etc.). Arlington Tech is a project-based learning program with AP class offerings (not full offerings, yet) and dual enrollment classes that gain students college credit. Students have the potential of earning a year or more's worth of college credits by the time they finish. The two programs integrate together; but Arl Tech students' diplomas still come from their home neighborhood school.

The immediate neighborhood is not trying to take-over these programs. Rather, they are advocating for the expansion of the site to add a neighborhood comprehensive high school with all the amenities or access to the same amenities as the other three comprehensives.

[Anonymous]

To make full use of the career center site, we need to find a place for Montessori so that we can also tear down Patrick Henry at the same time. I can’t help but notice that Barcroft has a similarly sized building that could easily hold Montessori. Montessori is in mid-400s on enrollment.

Barcroft capacity is 460 and Henry is 463.

Time to make this decision is now so that the career center site can be fully developed- perhaps including building a new elementary on that site. But unless Montessori location is moved we can’t make full use of career center land.

[Anonymous]

Wouldn’t it be easier to build a new elementary school somewhere else? Smaller space, less need for certain things which are required by the state and equitable? Why can’t Montessori move Glen Carolyn or a senior center? The Montessori boosters will be parents of high schoolers someday no?

[Anonymous]

I hope Arlington Heights gets their way. They are willing to deal with bringing a huge high school to the neighborhood, there should be a benefit for them.
They get the same amenities as the other schools, and access to a considerably better high school than Wakefield. Good for them, I hope they get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What ultimately stopped me from lobbying for a 4th comprehensive was its location in the south and the fact that it would ultimately be made disproportionately of FARMs students. W-L is a great site for bringing North and South together, and the Career Center is more centrally located in the same way.

But I agree that Kenmore has superior land available to it and the whole thing makes me angry. But ... once a student population is around 45% FARMs, it's a bit doomed in terms of achievement, and that's the way a Kenmore High seemed, to me, likely to be zoned under this School Board's way of doing things.

Not very different from Wakefield today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What ultimately stopped me from lobbying for a 4th comprehensive was its location in the south and the fact that it would ultimately be made disproportionately of FARMs students. W-L is a great site for bringing North and South together, and the Career Center is more centrally located in the same way.

But I agree that Kenmore has superior land available to it and the whole thing makes me angry. But ... once a student population is around 45% FARMs, it's a bit doomed in terms of achievement, and that's the way a Kenmore High seemed, to me, likely to be zoned under this School Board's way of doing things.

Not very different from Wakefield today.

No kidding.
Translation: I know Kenmore is the best option, but my propert values will be tanked if it’s placed there.
It would be really great if more people in north Arlington were directly impacted by the county’s ridiculous housing plan. But whatever.
Bright side to career center is that it will create a higher performing HS in south Arlington.