Let’s Talk APS High Schools: 4th one or no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are we really getting this bogged down over a swimming pool? Really? Since when is that integral to a high school education? The other 3 high schools all have beautiful, relatively new pools. And the County is about to spend anywhere from $65-70 million on Long Bridge Park. In an era where every dollar spent needs to be weighed against future needs and property tax hikes, not sure we should be fighting for a pool.

I'm far more concerned with balancing the economic diversity at any new CC high school with Wakefield and to some extent, W-L. (Yorktown is a lost cause.) Let's worry about that, and providing a good curriculum that'll challenge students.

Sorry. I want my kids to have field space, an auditorium, opportunities in band, to be able to play a sport etc. I’m less concerned with your social engineering. High school is way more than its academics. Being in the school play or being in a sports team provide experiences and lessons I want my kids to have. For some kids, that may be being on the Swim team.

They are going to make this whole CC an option. And we will continue to see massive overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are we really getting this bogged down over a swimming pool? Really? Since when is that integral to a high school education? The other 3 high schools all have beautiful, relatively new pools. And the County is about to spend anywhere from $65-70 million on Long Bridge Park. In an era where every dollar spent needs to be weighed against future needs and property tax hikes, not sure we should be fighting for a pool.

I'm far more concerned with balancing the economic diversity at any new CC high school with Wakefield and to some extent, W-L. (Yorktown is a lost cause.) Let's worry about that, and providing a good curriculum that'll challenge students.

Sorry. I want my kids to have field space, an auditorium, opportunities in band, to be able to play a sport etc. I’m less concerned with your social engineering. High school is way more than its academics. Being in the school play or being in a sports team provide experiences and lessons I want my kids to have. For some kids, that may be being on the Swim team.

They are going to make this whole CC an option. And we will continue to see massive overcrowding.

Your kids have access to all these things now at Wakefield. You just want your own on your doorstep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are we really getting this bogged down over a swimming pool? Really? Since when is that integral to a high school education? The other 3 high schools all have beautiful, relatively new pools. And the County is about to spend anywhere from $65-70 million on Long Bridge Park. In an era where every dollar spent needs to be weighed against future needs and property tax hikes, not sure we should be fighting for a pool.

I'm far more concerned with balancing the economic diversity at any new CC high school with Wakefield and to some extent, W-L. (Yorktown is a lost cause.) Let's worry about that, and providing a good curriculum that'll challenge students.

Sorry. I want my kids to have field space, an auditorium, opportunities in band, to be able to play a sport etc. I’m less concerned with your social engineering. High school is way more than its academics. Being in the school play or being in a sports team provide experiences and lessons I want my kids to have. For some kids, that may be being on the Swim team.

They are going to make this whole CC an option. And we will continue to see massive overcrowding.

Your kids have access to all these things now at Wakefield. You just want your own on your doorstep.

Np- what do you want?
We need more seats. That neighborhood is willing to take on what no other area wants.
They are willing to take on YEARS of construction and send their kids to a new school.
Where else in the county is anyone else volunteering? Oh, so for their troubles, you want them to have crappy facilities because... why exactly? Oh because they are leaving Wakefield? Get a grip. Everyone should be thanking that neighborhood. They are being very generous.

[Anonymous]

How many high school students will there be at each site by the time the Career Center hits its projected capacity for the current design? A neighbor told me the plan is for 4,000 students on the parcel of land 1/3 the size of the other schools. If it really is that many, how many students will attend the other schools? From the comments here, the other schools are already at capacity with ~2,500 students each. They can't share facilities because they are too full with students. Unless the other schools will have more than 4,000 students at each of their locations, the Career Center will never equitable. It would absolutely need everything the other schools have, and more. It should have its own pool complex with 2 pools and double the sports teams.

Can anyone tell me the numbers? What does the Pike area get out of this, besides a giant office building with a pool?

And who lets their kids play football anymore, with the threat of CTE? That's a sport we could probably get rid of, and use the land to build 3 more schools. There has to be some sacrifice here, across the broad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are we really getting this bogged down over a swimming pool? Really? Since when is that integral to a high school education? The other 3 high schools all have beautiful, relatively new pools. And the County is about to spend anywhere from $65-70 million on Long Bridge Park. In an era where every dollar spent needs to be weighed against future needs and property tax hikes, not sure we should be fighting for a pool.

I'm far more concerned with balancing the economic diversity at any new CC high school with Wakefield and to some extent, W-L. (Yorktown is a lost cause.) Let's worry about that, and providing a good curriculum that'll challenge students.

Sorry. I want my kids to have field space, an auditorium, opportunities in band, to be able to play a sport etc. I’m less concerned with your social engineering. High school is way more than its academics. Being in the school play or being in a sports team provide experiences and lessons I want my kids to have. For some kids, that may be being on the Swim team.

They are going to make this whole CC an option. And we will continue to see massive overcrowding.

Your kids have access to all these things now at Wakefield. You just want your own on your doorstep.

Np- what do you want?
We need more seats. That neighborhood is willing to take on what no other area wants.
They are willing to take on YEARS of construction and send their kids to a new school.
Where else in the county is anyone else volunteering? Oh, so for their troubles, you want them to have crappy facilities because... why exactly? Oh because they are leaving Wakefield? Get a grip. Everyone should be thanking that neighborhood. They are being very generous.

Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

+1

Personally, I would be ok with phasing in the pool if that's necessary from a bond capacity POV. CC kids would have to bus to Long Bridge in the interim. But, in return with CC still housing all the CTE classes for the county, the CC kids would have much greater access to those. Right now, you need 2 class periods to take a class at the CC but kids on site presumably could take them with just 1 class period.

[Anonymous]

As long as the CC facility has access to amenities it needs, I'm okay with it not being on site. It's a short ride to TJ, Wakefield, Barcroft Rec, Arlington Mill, or Walter Reed. We need to use some of these resources.

My kids will go to this school. I would rather there be some workarounds in place while we wait for the amenities, because I don't think it will happen all at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as the CC facility has access to amenities it needs, I'm okay with it not being on site. It's a short ride to TJ, Wakefield, Barcroft Rec, Arlington Mill, or Walter Reed. We need to use some of these resources.

My kids will go to this school. I would rather there be some workarounds in place while we wait for the amenities, because I don't think it will happen all at once.

Yes. A pool isn’t reasonable year 1. I think people can understand that. Give us a plan to roll it out and absorb the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

Yes, EQUITABLE. Meaning, if you want "equal facilities" then you also need to not inequitably siphon off the UMC from Wakefield. I would support a 4th hs at cc. But only with farms rate equity as a precondition. I'd also support an athletic facility on the site and a modern school in a nearby office building, but I'm sure that's a nonstarter for a variety of reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

Yes, EQUITABLE. Meaning, if you want "equal facilities" then you also need to not inequitably siphon off the UMC from Wakefield. I would support a 4th hs at cc. But only with farms rate equity as a precondition. I'd also support an athletic facility on the site and a modern school in a nearby office building, but I'm sure that's a nonstarter for a variety of reasons.

Yes we all get it. You agree to a school that didn’t effect your school and property values. Doesn’t matter if the facilities are less than. You are being really selfish and myopic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

Yes, EQUITABLE. Meaning, if you want "equal facilities" then you also need to not inequitably siphon off the UMC from Wakefield. I would support a 4th hs at cc. But only with farms rate equity as a precondition. I'd also support an athletic facility on the site and a modern school in a nearby office building, but I'm sure that's a nonstarter for a variety of reasons.

If they make that a precondition, they should draw boundaries that balance FARMS rate across Wakefield/CC AND W-L. Ideally Yorktown too but geography and the stupid county housing policy makes that pretty
much impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh come on! This argument fools no one. The neighborhood is the wealthiest in south Arlington other than Arlington ridge. They've "arrived" and they want an amenity filled public high school that will boost there property values and allow them to leave Wakefield. TheY are in no way "taking on for the team".

DP. There are insufficient seats at the HS level in the county for the kids currently in the pipeline. This is a fact. The bubble is already in school now. The question is where and how do you put them.

A lot of us believe that APS cannot put together enough sufficiently compelling small programs to equally draw kids from the three comprehensive high schools. And even then, those kids still go back and take resources from the home schools in the form of participation in extracurriculars or seats in classes that aren't offered in the program. A fourth comprehensive high school is really the only guaranteed solution. From an acreage perspective, the Kenmore site is hands down the best option, but the politics surrounding it are unreal.

I don't know if the CC site is the right one, but I know we need seats or all the kids in Arlington will be going to school on the crazy shift schedule that was tossed out as an idea a few years ago. Building a lesser-than school doesn't work, unless all the resources at the other three schools become pooled-resources. It's no longer the Yorktown stadium or the Wakefield pool. Teams will be scheduled from four high schools across three schools-worth of fields, pools, band rooms, and theaters. That's the reality. We have enough kids coming nito the system to fill another entire high school. Rather than simply mocking those families, tell me exactly where you would put all these kids. Many of whom may want the whole high school experience in order to both enjoy HS and be competitive for college applications.

Signed,
Family not zoned for Wakefield or a future HS anywhere in south arlington

This is the only thing we should be discussing. Quickly getting a full and equitable 4th school up and running.

Yes, EQUITABLE. Meaning, if you want "equal facilities" then you also need to not inequitably siphon off the UMC from Wakefield. I would support a 4th hs at cc. But only with farms rate equity as a precondition. I'd also support an athletic facility on the site and a modern school in a nearby office building, but I'm sure that's a nonstarter for a variety of reasons.

If they make that a precondition, they should draw boundaries that balance FARMS rate across Wakefield/CC AND W-L. Ideally Yorktown too but geography and the stupid county housing policy makes that pretty
much impossible.

We've now circled back to the discussion three pages ago. You can't adjust boundaries for diversity in a significant way for only some of the schools. If it's a matter of moving one or two planning units and it's reasonable to choose between them, fine. You can't do some majorly crazy shifting and line drawing for only some schools. I agree it wouldn't be acceptable to let Wakefield tank, but if that's a priority to the county then 22207 isn't protected.

[Anonymous]

Not realistic to change Ytown through boundary. I’m in south Arlington and even I understand that.
Fight for a better spread of AH if that’s your goal.
A new hs at CC could help shoulder some of the burden off Wakefield in a meaningful way. Even if it’s 10% reduction of Wakefield farms.
That would be significant.
Quit being ungrateful West Pike residents.