You're stuck pages back people. I solved it. You can stay where you are for now wealthy white walkers, but we're taking Arlington Forest (north) to Wakefield, you know, for contiguity and keeping neighborhoods together (the southern half of the neighborhood is already at Wakefield, and we all go to the same pool and neighborhood events and Kenmore MS), and Yorktown gets the east end of Columbia Pike for the diversity they seek (those kids are on a bus no matter what; it is about 3 miles to Wakefield and W-L, and 5 miles to Yorktown, so not a huge difference). Problem solved. I think this is a reasonable solution that doesn't rebuild the wheel but also doesn't blow up one of our three high schools in a way that will have more affluent families scrambling to cram themselves into the walk zone at W-L. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to deliberately turn one of your three schools into a high poverty school that people are wary of when you NEED those seats and to have ALL the families who are headed for those seats happy to occupy them instead of trying to transfer or move into one of the other schools. In this scenario, the units on the Western end of Columbia Pike stay at W-L where they've been for decades. Transfers from W-L into Wakefield will still be allowed for at least the next few years, so if walkability is such a great concern for those students or their families, that option is still available to them. If we just rezone them, then they have no choices. Seems like it's pretty unfair to take choices away from those already at a greater disadvantage. If we leave them alone, they can decide on an individual basis. This is the only way they'll get to choose because of the economic barriers that have been put up around most areas of Arlington. |
I think PP is specifically responding to the idea of moving the 386 economically disadvantaged students in planning units 3506, 3507, 3508, 3509, and 3510 to Wakefield, which will push the percentage of economically disadvantaged students well beyond 50%. Just do anything but that. Okay? There are other options. The disadvantaged students who live in those units have the option of transferring to Wakefield from W-L if they choose to prioritize proximity. They will not have the same choices if we rezone them. |
You didn't pay $1 million for any school. You bought a house. The end. |
| I haven't been on the planning tool for a few days (just following this thread) and it looks like they just added a new 1.5 potential walkability zone as of today? If you leave most of the WL planning units w/n that zone alone has anyone managed to achieve the rebalance with the zones outside the circle? Just curious. Given that Chadwick said they would try to minimize walkers having to move. |
I am not the poster above who said they paid $1 million so they wouldn't have to be in Wakefield, but it's also true that housing prices are strongly tied to school zones. To say it's not true, is naive. |
| Do kids really want to walk 1.5 miles to school everyday? I'd bike but not walk. |
| Arlington Forest opposes the move. |
So does every other neighborhood. |
I didn't say that housing prices are not influenced by schools. I'm not some rube who just fell from a turnip truck passing through Arlington. I simply stated that things change and you have no more right to attend the school you were zoned for at the time of house purchase because you paid $1 million than someone who paid a mere $700,000. It doesn't work like that. The only way to guarantee a school through money is by paying tuition at a private school. It was your mistake not to realize this. |
| Blah. My neighborhood is Yktn. It's split down the Kidd and we are walkers. I really want my friends across the street to switch, but all that is talked about is the damn island. |
| Chadwick lies |
Sounds like you are somewhere between WL and Wakefield. Too bad for you. We are way further north. so yeah, our $1 million+ was well spent. |
| Moving Arlington Forest PUs is not really "keeping a neighborhood together." Arlington Forest is separated by route 50. It might as well be two separate neighborhoods. My kid attends WL from one of the Arlington Forest PUs under consideration for a rezone to Wakefield. He takes a bus to WL but can walk to/from WL, and does, several times a week. No way would he be able to walk to/from Wakefield. Arlington county needs to increase diversity in the south Arlington neighborhoods in order to achieve it in the schools, not bus it in. |
I'm not part of the contingent that advocates leaving the western planning units closest to wakefield out of wakefield, but it seems like there's been momentum at least on this board to move one of the arlington forest PUs to wakefield. |
We are in a walk zone labeled as 1.5 miles. Our house is 0.95 miles door-to-door from WL and YES all the kids in my neighborhood walk to and from there or ride bikes. I pass my 3 neighbor HS WL boys on my afternoon run. My own kids bike up to WL field all the time and they are 11. By 14, yes, they would be doing that on their own. Hell, some of the MS neighbor's have walked home from Swanson. We aren't all pansies. |