Third round options on Woodward Boundary study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they are asking about 1-4 on the survey, then I presume that 1-4 are in play. Why else would they ask?

1. To make it harder and more confusing to provide feedback
2. To give the impression that they are considering all options when in fact other decisions like the regional model and the closure of SSIMS will automatically eliminate all but 3 options.
3. To collect feedback against Option 3 in the initial options to justify increasing FARMS rates in high poverty schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

We are talking about high school kids here, right?

Yes, you do realize you still have to parent high school kids.

[Anonymous]

More time on bus = fewer hours available for school, homework, family, extra curricular. True even if you sleep the same number of hours. Why is this hard to recognize?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

[Anonymous]

The survey asks which of the option(s) A-G you prefer with the choice of selecting up to all 7 options.

The 2 optional feedback sections (one for option A-G and another for initial options 1-4) feel like lip service. Cannot imagine MCPS has the time to read all the feedback; however, asking for it means they can check the box that states they elicited feedback. Just like today’s lunchtime meeting was billed as community engagement when it really was just talking heads reading what we can all see on the website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

We are talking about high school kids here, right?

Yes, you do realize you still have to parent high school kids.

Yes, on many things that become relevant at that age. When to go to bed is not one of those things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

A 'walk zone' doesn't just mean that you are within 2 miles, you have to be able to walk safely, not cross major roads etc. Based on the interactive maps I don't think the BES community is in walk zone to Whitman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

A 'walk zone' doesn't just mean that you are within 2 miles, you have to be able to walk safely, not cross major roads etc. Based on the interactive maps I don't think the BES community is in walk zone to Whitman

It probably depends on where is the BES zone someone is. Some people would have to cross Wisconsin, which might be a no go (but are we really saying HS kids can’t cross a major street) but other people could walk from Wilson to Whittier which not only doesn’t require crossing a major street, but also has sidewalks along the route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

A 'walk zone' doesn't just mean that you are within 2 miles, you have to be able to walk safely, not cross major roads etc. Based on the interactive maps I don't think the BES community is in walk zone to Whitman

It probably depends on where is the BES zone someone is. Some people would have to cross Wisconsin, which might be a no go (but are we really saying HS kids can’t cross a major street) but other people could walk from Wilson to Whittier which not only doesn’t require crossing a major street, but also has sidewalks along the route.

There are different standards depending on how wealthy the neighborhood is. Many kids have to cross major roads like University and Veirs Mill Rd to get to school.

[Anonymous]

BES is absolutely walkable to Whitman - all two lane rds and most of the walk can be done on quiet residential streets. 1.7 miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

A 'walk zone' doesn't just mean that you are within 2 miles, you have to be able to walk safely, not cross major roads etc. Based on the interactive maps I don't think the BES community is in walk zone to Whitman

It probably depends on where is the BES zone someone is. Some people would have to cross Wisconsin, which might be a no go (but are we really saying HS kids can’t cross a major street) but other people could walk from Wilson to Whittier which not only doesn’t require crossing a major street, but also has sidewalks along the route.

There are different standards depending on how wealthy the neighborhood is. Many kids have to cross major roads like University and Veirs Mill Rd to get to school.

I guess that could cut either way since the only reason to potentially switch BES for Wood Acres is BES having some economic diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BES is absolutely walkable to Whitman - all two lane rds and most of the walk can be done on quiet residential streets. 1.7 miles.

You do realize that not everyone who goes to BES lives at the school, right? Plenty of people who are zoned for BES live further than that and/or have to cross major roads to get to Whitman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BES is absolutely walkable to Whitman - all two lane rds and most of the walk can be done on quiet residential streets. 1.7 miles.

You do realize that not everyone who goes to BES lives at the school, right? Plenty of people who are zoned for BES live further than that and/or have to cross major roads to get to Whitman.

Many kids currently cross major roads to get to school. For example, many BES kids have to cross major roads to get to BCC

[Anonymous]

In fact some of those kids will get bus service to Whitman now which will be safer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option F clearly balances facility utilization, proximity and demographics quite well. And without doing anything completely insane. I love it but I wish there was an Option H to keep SSIMS open but everything else the same.

Option F flips two elementary schools (Wood Acres and Bethesda Elementary) to the others middle and high school for no apparent reason. Neither school population benefits from the switch. Both populations have a further distance for high school and Bethesda Elementary kids lose walkability to BCC in a downtown core. It increases bus, car traffic, and safety issues.

I mean I don't care if they switch them back as it doesn't affect me, but it is important to balance demographics as having a high needs population makes it harder to manage a school and they don't get extra funding for this. And neither Wood Acres nor Bethesda would be buses very far - Bethesda ES wouldn't require busing at all. And Wood Acres kids will get a bus instead of being driven by their parents/friends which will reduce traffic and increase safety. I get people will be upset but there are real benefits to this.

I have no stake here (I’m in the other study area), but have you ever been in downtown Bethesda between 7-9AM or 3-6PM? The last thing we need is more cars/buses on the road in Bethesda!

While the distance may not initially sound terrible, when you factor in the time for bus stops and travel on major roads during rush hour, the bus commute could easily be 30-40 minutes. More travel time equals less sleep for teenagers.

Or, parents make sure their kids go to bed earlier. You clearly have a stake as you are commenting.

Which kids should have to ride buses for longer, which is shown to reduce sleep and homework time?

Many of them won't need bus rides because they are within 2 miles of the school (although walk zones seem to be mysteriously smaller west county than east county... I wonder why).

Not really and some of our kids have very dangerous walks.

A 'walk zone' doesn't just mean that you are within 2 miles, you have to be able to walk safely, not cross major roads etc. Based on the interactive maps I don't think the BES community is in walk zone to Whitman

It probably depends on where is the BES zone someone is. Some people would have to cross Wisconsin, which might be a no go (but are we really saying HS kids can’t cross a major street) but other people could walk from Wilson to Whittier which not only doesn’t require crossing a major street, but also has sidewalks along the route.

There are different standards depending on how wealthy the neighborhood is. Many kids have to cross major roads like University and Veirs Mill Rd to get to school.

This and multiple students have been hit by cars, and one passed away. We don't have sidewalks on all the strees in our neighborhood and multiple dangerous roads.