APS Elementary Planning Mtg at Swanson - Option 1 in, Option 2 out, McKinley Moms out of contro

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys on DCUM restore in me the hope that AEM takes away.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You guys on DCUM restore in me the hope that AEM takes away.

+1

Except for “decisive man” poster. S/he should go spout that shizz on AEM and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also agree that APS has been very engaged and transparent. Some people confuse 'you don't listen to me' with 'you don't agree with me.'

This 100%. The staff has been very clear about the alternatives they considered and why they weren't chosen and (as someone with no skin in the game) the recommendation seems reasonable. The only objections really come down to "I personally will be inconvenienced so the plan is bad.". Not agreeing with you is not the same as not listening.

I also think the charge that they already knew what they wanted to do before putting it out for wider community input is ridiculous. It's their job to figure this out! Of course they should have a well-informed point of view!

The tagline “Save McKinley” is unfortunate. It was a knee-jerk reaction to a surprise announcement, but in the weeks since the tone has changed and the focus is really on the numbers. Key’s current building needs to be a neighborhood school, fine. But Central Arlington has been overcrowded too. We’ve all been looking forward to Reed opening to alleviate the crowding at McKinley and the Key move will allow some of the Eastern tail of Ashlawn to move, alleviating crowding there. The main issue is that the board cited data that is flawed or incomplete. Historically the SB has done a poor job of predicting how many kids will come from apartment buildings. Given the pace of building near Ballston and VA Square, we’re worried that they will under-predict again. The reason the McKinely folks are sensitive to the county and SB telling them to shut up and trust the numbers is because they made a mistake - not counting a whole planning unit - that caused McKinley to go through a renovation and still open over capacity. It’s really hard for Ashlawn and McKinely to trust the numbers when such historic miscalculations have caused our kids to have trailers taking up their playgrounds. It’s hard to come up with good alternatives when the preschool numbers aren’t in the mix. It’s hard because no one knows what the current Key and ATS families will do. I’ve heard several Ashlawn families say they applied to ATS to be shielded from the boundary changes. They didn’t get in, so that ship has sailed, which pokes a hole is the whole “super long wait list” that ATS claims is why they need to expand. Most ATS kids come from the nearest neighborhoods, so moving it to MCKinley will make it less attractive to many families.

[Anonymous]

Don’t make my kids get on a bus to a school less than a mile away. They should be able to walk. Oh, other kids (more, actually) could walk to another school. They shouldn’t be able to walk. I wasn’t talking about them. Have you heard of a place called a Tuckahoe?

We need to bus kids for diversity. No, bussing hurts poorer families. We need to keep Key on Key because poorer families go there. What about the poorer families who will have access once immersion is more central. Oh, I’m not talking about those families.

[Anonymous]

If what the PP said is true, Save McKinley needs to distance itself from the McKrazies who obviously only care about themselves and are willing to make sure everyone else suffers because of their own entitlement. However, the queen of screamers was wearing a SaveMcK shirt on tv, so.........

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:They’re bringing the public in much later in the process, once the decision is all but made. Gone are the days of six different options for the community to rank and considering the community’s preference in selecting the ultimate recommendation, instead we now get one option that they’re going to go with, one alternative designed to push people to support the intended recommendation, and an explanation for why they chose the option they’ll be recommending.

Granted, I think this is better because the community showed it can’t handle having real input in the process, but it is different.

And thank goodness for that!
In some fairness, though, I really don't think they have a lot of options to seriously consider, let alone put forward. And this week's presentation helped illustrate that when they went through the various scenarios and explained why they didn't move them forward.

This 'process' is BS, seems like yesterday they were doing the Key / ASFS swap, before that the option school was moving to Nottingham and now McKinley is the target. Has the 'data' really changed that much?

Step right up to the APS Ouija Board, just don't disagree with Lisa - she is *always* right.

The fact that they backed away from the Key/ASFS Swap and moving to Nottingham show that they ARE listening and ARE taking new data into account. The fundamental problems have not changed, though. Rosslyn and Courthouse have no where to go to school and there are too many seats in the west with the new Reed building. It's time for APS to finally make a strategic move. I'm sorry that it is inconvenient to you, personally.

What 'data' has really changed in the past year? Only hard data I have seen is enrollment is slowing down and new housing isn't coming online as quickly as the county predicts.

I take it you are speaking for Key on Key? You need to answer the fundamental question of why it's a travesty to move an option program that isn't even attracting Spanish speakers 2.5 miles but it's perfectly ok to send neighborhood kids over 3 miles to Taylor.

What I am saying is that APS is playing a game of musical chairs with the *same* data - and we are running out of chairs. FYI I am not speaking for Key on Key - I am just talking about this process that feels like APS keeps throwing ideas against a wall to see what sticks.

Ok... What is your proposal, then? Do nothing and draw boundaries around current locations? Something else? I just don't see a better option, but maybe you do.

APS has the *experts* - what they need to do is hire decisive men to work there, not the wet noodles they seem to get. The current team of APS administrators act like a bunch of chickens running around with no heads.

OK, B00mer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just make a decision, Arlington. Enough with the hand wringing. It’s a county of type a nerds with attitude and you can’t please them all. The option the staff is pushing is perfectly sensible. Just frickin do it.

+A MILLION.

Stop the community feedback. It's all just crying because their kids will get a "less than ideal" situation. This will happen no matter what. JUST MAKE THE MOVES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If what the PP said is true, Save McKinley needs to distance itself from the McKrazies who obviously only care about themselves and are willing to make sure everyone else suffers because of their own entitlement. However, the queen of screamers was wearing a SaveMcK shirt on tv, so.........

It’s very true and many of us have distanced ourselves since there’s no talking sense into people who want drama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make a decision, Arlington. Enough with the hand wringing. It’s a county of type a nerds with attitude and you can’t please them all. The option the staff is pushing is perfectly sensible. Just frickin do it.

+A MILLION.

Stop the community feedback. It's all just crying because their kids will get a "less than ideal" situation. This will happen no matter what. JUST MAKE THE MOVES.

I think the staff has the fortitude to stick with it to the final option 1 recommendation, assuming they get enough positive feedback from the current poll. I worry about what the school board will do. Some of them are overly malleable to the pressure of loud dissent, even if it is coming from a small group.

[Anonymous]

I wish the staff would just do away with all option programs, draw lines that reduce transportation and just go that way. We can't even hire enough bus drivers here! This option BS is a relic of the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish the staff would just do away with all option programs, draw lines that reduce transportation and just go that way. We can't even hire enough bus drivers here! This option BS is a relic of the past.

So you propose further segregation? Cool. Just call it what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish the staff would just do away with all option programs, draw lines that reduce transportation and just go that way. We can't even hire enough bus drivers here! This option BS is a relic of the past.

So you propose further segregation? Cool. Just call it what it is.

How can it get much worse than the current extremes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish the staff would just do away with all option programs, draw lines that reduce transportation and just go that way. We can't even hire enough bus drivers here! This option BS is a relic of the past.

So you propose further segregation? Cool. Just call it what it is.

If people choose to self segregate, so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish the staff would just do away with all option programs, draw lines that reduce transportation and just go that way. We can't even hire enough bus drivers here! This option BS is a relic of the past.

So you propose further segregation? Cool. Just call it what it is.

If people choose to self segregate, so be it.

It's not like they have a choice. Where's the affordable housing in the north?

[Anonymous]

I think as Arlington gets more dense we have to build more schools which means all boundaries get smaller which means schools are more likely to reflect underlying housing patterns. All of which is to say, we are getting more segregated.

Anyone whining about going from a 10 school to a 7 needs to shut-up. For real. How much do you care about the very poor schools in the south part of the county?

I know APS is bad at data, but option 1 is probably the best we can do for now. The boundary process coming after this will be even worse, but I hope they stick with this and we can all get on to the next level of hell.