APS Superintendent High School Overcrowding Plan

[Anonymous]

I feel bad for the school administrators. Arlington parents are insufferable.

[Anonymous]

So wait, the SB is now talking about additions to north arlington ESs? Just last year the SB took additions off the table at the SAWG. They told us they were too expensive for the number of seats provided. Henry parents begged for an addition. Now, despite additions and renovations at aslawn and McKinley plus a platinum discovery, several north arlingto schools may get additions and another platinum school? With those additions come renovations to make the facilities shiny and new.

I guess we poor folks in south Arlington don't get renovated schools. Yes, we have the new Henry (which we have already been informed will be on the cheap) and recent cheap additions to abingdon, but that is it. Old cinder block schools down here are discouraging. Guess I should not be surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So wait, the SB is now talking about additions to north arlington ESs? Just last year the SB took additions off the table at the SAWG. They told us they were too expensive for the number of seats provided. Henry parents begged for an addition. Now, despite additions and renovations at aslawn and McKinley plus a platinum discovery, several north arlingto schools may get additions and another platinum school? With those additions come renovations to make the facilities shiny and new.

I guess we poor folks in south Arlington don't get renovated schools. Yes, we have the new Henry (which we have already been informed will be on the cheap) and recent cheap additions to abingdon, but that is it. Old cinder block schools down here are discouraging. Guess I should not be surprised.

Well, the families at Ashlawn and McKinley pay more in taxes. So isn't that fair?

[Anonymous]

Those of you thinking the VHC site on carlin springs could be a school are wasting your time. The county board plans to give the land to affordable housing developers in lieu of an AHIF loan. The developers then only need to construct the buildings. This is assuming the purchase goes through. This is a deal happening behind the scenes as we speak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you thinking the VHC site on carlin springs could be a school are wasting your time. The county board plans to give the land to affordable housing developers in lieu of an AHIF loan. The developers then only need to construct the buildings. This is assuming the purchase goes through. This is a deal happening behind the scenes as we speak.

WTF?!! How does you know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So wait, the SB is now talking about additions to north arlington ESs? Just last year the SB took additions off the table at the SAWG. They told us they were too expensive for the number of seats provided. Henry parents begged for an addition. Now, despite additions and renovations at aslawn and McKinley plus a platinum discovery, several north arlingto schools may get additions and another platinum school? With those additions come renovations to make the facilities shiny and new.

I guess we poor folks in south Arlington don't get renovated schools. Yes, we have the new Henry (which we have already been informed will be on the cheap) and recent cheap additions to abingdon, but that is it. Old cinder block schools down here are discouraging. Guess I should not be surprised.

The decisions are being based off the projections on overcrowding. They are on Slide #8 of the APS CIP deck. North Arlington has a bigger seat shortage. After the new Henry is finished and the Abington addition is complete, the County numbers assume that the South Arlington capacity issues can be taken care of with redistricting. That may or may not be true, but I'm just telling you where the assumptions are coming from. And as for the McK addition, the construction bids turned out to be way more expensive than they expected so we are not getting other renovations to make things shiny and new. In fact, they cut back on a bunch of planned enhancements. The only shiny new platinum building is Discovery, and the soon to be built HB Woodlawn.

[Anonymous]

McKinley is not getting a gold standard renovation, fwiw. They drew up the plans and submitted it for bids, and by that time construction prices had increased so much that they had to cut a bunch of stuff out. The additions should be nice but recognize that they're not giving us one square foot more of space than the 725 kids we are supposed to have, which means if fourth grade has 6 classes of kids instead of 5, it's back outside to the trailers. And they're not renovating whatever isn't in the plans, so while some classrooms in the construction areas are getting a makeover, most are not. Moreover, the addition itself is taking up most of the space that previously held our only real field for the kids to run around in. There is a small area left, but once trailers have to be added back into the mix (which is sort of inevitable, at some point, given the overcrowding in the north), the field goes *poof*.

I didn't think south arlington was as overcrowded as the north end? Aren't many of the schools under capacity?

I'm a McKinley parent and I don't mean to complain. Budgets are tight now. To be honest I do wish they had turned Reed into an elementary instead of building McKinley out to 725 kids -- nobody really wants their kids' elementary school to be enormous. But it is what it is, and it's a great school I'm happy to have my kids there.

I'm sorry if your school is made out of cinderblocks, but for what it's worth, the McKinley addition is also totally made out of cinderblocks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you thinking the VHC site on carlin springs could be a school are wasting your time. The county board plans to give the land to affordable housing developers in lieu of an AHIF loan. The developers then only need to construct the buildings. This is assuming the purchase goes through. This is a deal happening behind the scenes as we speak.

WTF?!! How does you know this?

Whoa this is CRAZY! Schools are dying and they are giving off plots of land for MORE affordable housing in the south? That is just nutso.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you thinking the VHC site on carlin springs could be a school are wasting your time. The county board plans to give the land to affordable housing developers in lieu of an AHIF loan. The developers then only need to construct the buildings. This is assuming the purchase goes through. This is a deal happening behind the scenes as we speak.

That is not true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel bad for the school administrators. Arlington parents are insufferable.

np. How so? Too many type A personalities? My sense is that they are generally a cynical bunch -- people assume the worst about others and try the work every angle.

[Anonymous]

I also heard that affordable housing lobby is eyeing the hospital site. Since the CB gives them what ever they want, I expect it to happen. Don't know abou how it will be structured, but many people assume it is a foregone conclusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also heard that affordable housing lobby is eyeing the hospital site. Since the CB gives them what ever they want, I expect it to happen. Don't know abou how it will be structured, but many people assume it is a foregone conclusion.

Can't we move them to SE DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was talk by APS facilities people about using the Ed Center or the Buck property along 66 and situated between ASFS and W-L as land to build a "9th grade academy." While this is not at the top of my list as a solution for high school overcrowding, it is better than having the high schools operate in multiple shifts. How does that even work? Two entire sets of teachers, course offerings and staff? Two of every sports teams and clubs? Two marching bands? And where will the soccer team or band or debate team practice if the space is being utilized by the other school within the school? Will a student be assigned a shift based on their extra-curricular activities? Or will the student just be screwed? "Yes, we know you'd like to participate in Model U.N. but only the students who go to school from 6 am to 1 pm can do Model U.N. Because you were assigned the 2 pm to 9 pm shift, you are not eligible."

When I did a quick google search on double shifting, the only articles that turned up were about schools in Mexico, Rwanda and other developing countries. And possibly in Florida for a brief period of time in the aftermath of a major hurricane. Do any school systems in the U.S. do this and on a long term basis? How? What are the results?

They did it in Christchurch, New Zealand after an earthquake. Exam results improved, contrary to expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was talk by APS facilities people about using the Ed Center or the Buck property along 66 and situated between ASFS and W-L as land to build a "9th grade academy." While this is not at the top of my list as a solution for high school overcrowding, it is better than having the high schools operate in multiple shifts. How does that even work? Two entire sets of teachers, course offerings and staff? Two of every sports teams and clubs? Two marching bands? And where will the soccer team or band or debate team practice if the space is being utilized by the other school within the school? Will a student be assigned a shift based on their extra-curricular activities? Or will the student just be screwed? "Yes, we know you'd like to participate in Model U.N. but only the students who go to school from 6 am to 1 pm can do Model U.N. Because you were assigned the 2 pm to 9 pm shift, you are not eligible."

When I did a quick google search on double shifting, the only articles that turned up were about schools in Mexico, Rwanda and other developing countries. And possibly in Florida for a brief period of time in the aftermath of a major hurricane. Do any school systems in the U.S. do this and on a long term basis? How? What are the results?

They did it in Christchurch, New Zealand after an earthquake. Exam results improved, contrary to expectations.

Well, I would not expect that result to replicated here. You'll have a bunch of kids with too much time on their hands, no supervision, and access to discretionary money. Wonder what they'd do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also heard that affordable housing lobby is eyeing the hospital site. Since the CB gives them what ever they want, I expect it to happen. Don't know abou how it will be structured, but many people assume it is a foregone conclusion.

They are. And they will probably get it, or at least some of it. Have you guys not been paying any attention at all? The primary crisis in Arlington that elected and soon-to-be elected individuals are talking about is the affordable housing crisis. They don't give a fig if Larla/Larlo have to go to school in shifts. Look at the panic that the "Blue Ribbon Panel" proposal caused among AH advocates. Wonder why they were so concerned about a panel that might have recommended a change in current priorities? Because they are the number #1 priority right now.