APS - Who is running for School Board?

[Anonymous]

I am on a committee with Symone Walker. She is a new member and she has already alienated half of the committee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Steven = "Oh no, my kid will be moved and I don't like it so I guess I will run for the School Board!"

So I know him outside of this context. I think his post came off badly. He first became interested in school related issues when the issue with moving key came up in spring of 2018 (2 years ago). I think he understands why running for the school board now would have no effect on that decision (since theoretically boundaries will be decided by then). He's been extremely involved in the Key community since then (and before), but he hasn't been one of the people fighting moving the school. I think the whole enrollments and transfer change, which precipitated the first attempt to move key, which then precipitated the swap, which then precipitated this current attempt to move key. From an outside looking in perspective, this entire thing has been such a waste of time and energy and money -- APS staff obviously thinks that Key needs to move but the school board keeps squelching any attempt to do so. If the school board really feels so strongly, they should point blank tell APS staff that they should stop spending time trying to move it. Either that or revisit some earlier decisions, like the enrollments and transfers policy that turned Key into a pure option school. Or make Reed into an option school, I'm sure ATS would love to move there. Strong leadership means being ok with admitting past decisions were wrong, and standing up to angry parents when they are not seeing the bigger picture. We lack that on the current school board. I can't say that Steve would do this because I've only interacted with him in non-confrontational contexts, but I don't think characterizing him as a "grudge candidate" is accurate.

He's a really nice guy, and honestly it would be nice to have someone from the north eastern part of the county on the school board. We have gotten screwed. There was a priority to build a new school along the R-B corridor over six years ago, that somehow turned into building Reed. I love Hamm, but it would have made more sense to keep HB where it was, and put a middle school somewhere in Rosslyn (if for no other reason than it offers a little more flexibility since it doesn't have an overlapping walk zone with Williamsburg). The Yorktown island is a historically bad decision, that we keep perpetuating because its easy.

Any screwing the NE has received has been its own doing. The community insisted upon a "walkable middle school." Others fought the HB Woodlawn move; but the NE neighborhood walkers won out. As for not getting a new school in the RB corridor and it going to Reed instead - that's because there was no readily available site to build another school in NE and Reed is already APS-owned and available. It should have been built years ago, and it should have been left open to being neighborhood or option depending on the best use when it opens. That's poor planning; but not screwing NE.

I agree about the waste of time and money. AGain, if NE hadn't fought moving immersion, and then fought the swap, we wouldn't have wasted so much time.

This is besides the point, but any screwing was done by the NW. Why would the NE (Rosslyn-Clarendon) insist on Hamm which is decidedly not walkable from anywhere East of Kirkwood. That was the folks around Taylor -- NW arlington -- who didn't want their kids going to an urban school. The enrollments and transfers came out of issues in South Arlington. Fighting the swap came from the neighborhood around ASFS (again not the NE, I'm not sure if Ballston/VA square/Cherrydale is in the eastern end of the county), and Key advocates from the NW (the stop the swap signs in Cherrydale and over by Jamestown).
So many bad decisions over the years.

Do you understand where the NE quadrant is?
Jamestown, Taylor, ASFS, Key.
Key can keep arguing its issues are due to the admissions policy change; but that just doesn't hold water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Do you understand where the NE quadrant is?
Jamestown, Taylor, ASFS, Key.
Key can keep arguing its issues are due to the admissions policy change; but that just doesn't hold water.

I would have said Taylor, ASFS/Key, Long Branch. I consider Jamestown NW because it has more in common with Discovery, Nottingham, etc. Doesn't really matter, of course.

I agree with you on Key. There's no getting around the fact they can't get the Spanish speakers and it has nothing to do with the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am on a committee with Symone Walker. She is a new member and she has already alienated half of the committee.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a TJ parent and there are a few things I've asked him about. He knows where to point you to get things done, and he's surprised me a few times with how much insider info he has. He's learned how to work the system without burning bridges, which I think will help him to get things done.

Symone is probably my second favorite, I like her energy -- but she is a bit of a bridge-burner, so I see her as more of a wildcard.

I know the two of them are friends, which is interesting, because they have such different styles.

But right now, that's probably my 1-2.

Just go to any of his PTA meetings and you’ll see there is no leadership... at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am on a committee with Symone Walker. She is a new member and she has already alienated half of the committee.

That’s actually an improvement. I’m curious to know how she didn’t alienate the entire committee and maybe some others too along the way. She’s about as divisive as it gets! Google confrontational, click images and her picture is probably front and center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am on a committee with Symone Walker. She is a new member and she has already alienated half of the committee.

That’s actually an improvement. I’m curious to know how she didn’t alienate the entire committee and maybe some others too along the way. She’s about as divisive as it gets! Google confrontational, click images and her picture is probably front and center.

I wish I knew you IRL because it sounds like you have some stories to tell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Do you understand where the NE quadrant is?
Jamestown, Taylor, ASFS, Key.
Key can keep arguing its issues are due to the admissions policy change; but that just doesn't hold water.

I would have said Taylor, ASFS/Key, Long Branch. I consider Jamestown NW because it has more in common with Discovery, Nottingham, etc. Doesn't really matter, of course.

I agree with you on Key. There's no getting around the fact they can't get the Spanish speakers and it has nothing to do with the lottery.

There’s no need for two Spanish immersion schools in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a TJ parent and there are a few things I've asked him about. He knows where to point you to get things done, and he's surprised me a few times with how much insider info he has. He's learned how to work the system without burning bridges, which I think will help him to get things done.

Symone is probably my second favorite, I like her energy -- but she is a bit of a bridge-burner, so I see her as more of a wildcard.

I know the two of them are friends, which is interesting, because they have such different styles.

But right now, that's probably my 1-2.

Just go to any of his PTA meetings and you’ll see there is no leadership... at all.

What "leadership" do you expect for a middle school PTA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a TJ parent and there are a few things I've asked him about. He knows where to point you to get things done, and he's surprised me a few times with how much insider info he has. He's learned how to work the system without burning bridges, which I think will help him to get things done.

Symone is probably my second favorite, I like her energy -- but she is a bit of a bridge-burner, so I see her as more of a wildcard.

I know the two of them are friends, which is interesting, because they have such different styles.

But right now, that's probably my 1-2.

Just go to any of his PTA meetings and you’ll see there is no leadership... at all.

What "leadership" do you expect for a middle school PTA?

If the PTA president is seeking to lead the district school board, I expect to see that capability and capacity being demonstrated in his meetings. I want to see his ability to supervise the superintendent on full display.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a TJ parent and there are a few things I've asked him about. He knows where to point you to get things done, and he's surprised me a few times with how much insider info he has. He's learned how to work the system without burning bridges, which I think will help him to get things done.

Symone is probably my second favorite, I like her energy -- but she is a bit of a bridge-burner, so I see her as more of a wildcard.

I know the two of them are friends, which is interesting, because they have such different styles.

But right now, that's probably my 1-2.

Just go to any of his PTA meetings and you’ll see there is no leadership... at all.

What "leadership" do you expect for a middle school PTA?

If the PTA president is seeking to lead the district school board, I expect to see that capability and capacity being demonstrated in his meetings. I want to see his ability to supervise the superintendent on full display.

Speaking of meetings only two candidates bothered to show up at tonights board meeting. Cristina & Symone are here. Where are the others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a TJ parent and there are a few things I've asked him about. He knows where to point you to get things done, and he's surprised me a few times with how much insider info he has. He's learned how to work the system without burning bridges, which I think will help him to get things done.

Symone is probably my second favorite, I like her energy -- but she is a bit of a bridge-burner, so I see her as more of a wildcard.

I know the two of them are friends, which is interesting, because they have such different styles.

But right now, that's probably my 1-2.

Just go to any of his PTA meetings and you’ll see there is no leadership... at all.

What "leadership" do you expect for a middle school PTA?

If the PTA president is seeking to lead the district school board, I expect to see that capability and capacity being demonstrated in his meetings. I want to see his ability to supervise the superintendent on full display.

Speaking of meetings only two candidates bothered to show up at tonights board meeting. Cristina & Symone are here. Where are the others?

Any speakers on the school moves?

[Anonymous]

A lot of people watch the school board meetings online either in real-time or later on. There's no reason to be at every one in person unless you have a reason to be there.

I would be concerned if someone has never been to one and doesn't follow or pay attention to what is happening. But I don't really care if our SB candidates are sitting there in the audience trying to be visible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people watch the school board meetings online either in real-time or later on. There's no reason to be at every one in person unless you have a reason to be there.

I would be concerned if someone has never been to one and doesn't follow or pay attention to what is happening. But I don't really care if our SB candidates are sitting there in the audience trying to be visible.

I think they should be there as well. They will need to be there if they are elected and I want to see that level commitment now. If they don’t show it now, they certainly won’t do it after they’ve been elected to a four year term. There are 7 candidates and I want to see what differentiates them from each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Symone seems so narrowly focused on black kids with reading problems. David seems a little more open.

I think that's her activist moment -- her son has dyslexia. But her concerns about other elements of APS seem based on the way APS makes decisions -- not using current research or looking at the whole child. So early testing for dyslexia, training APS employees on inherent bias, listening to experts rather than marketers about good uses of technology -- those are relatively simple steps to take, and yet APS doesn't.