Arl Dems Caucus Endorsement - School Board - In the Candidates' Words

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder - when Miranda wins the Democratic endorsement, will all of the anti-APE people on this thread complain that the primary process is unfair? Delicious irony if so.

The caucus was dysfunctional before this election and will be dysfunctional after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Just because you think this decision was incorrect does not mean it was actually incorrect. Teachers died in other places that sent them back pre vaccine. A lot of then. Teachers left and they had to call in Natioan Guard to teach. That's not what I wanted.

Actually, yes, it was incorrect. If you read the NYT piece, places like Arlington that kept schools closed ultimately had the same fatality rates as everywhere else. What we did have was a lot more learning loss. The national consensus on this is that we were wrong. And we were outliers. Much worse than the rest of the nation. It still boggles my mind that well-educated, evidence-based Arlington still does not get this. But like I said above, I now realize that will never change. But objectively, yes, we made the wrong call.

It was a reasonable call based on the data we had at that time, CDC guidelines for schools, limited space to implement those guidelines, etc Many districts like ours also waited for teacher vaccines. No need to hash this all out again.

Anyway, it wasn’t her opinion on return-to-school that is the issue for this election, it’s her choosing to knowingly partner with bullies who refused to listen to other stakeholders and perspectives. Poor judgment, at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Just because you think this decision was incorrect does not mean it was actually incorrect. Teachers died in other places that sent them back pre vaccine. A lot of then. Teachers left and they had to call in Natioan Guard to teach. That's not what I wanted.

Actually, yes, it was incorrect. If you read the NYT piece, places like Arlington that kept schools closed ultimately had the same fatality rates as everywhere else. What we did have was a lot more learning loss. The national consensus on this is that we were wrong. And we were outliers. Much worse than the rest of the nation. It still boggles my mind that well-educated, evidence-based Arlington still does not get this. But like I said above, I now realize that will never change. But objectively, yes, we made the wrong call.

It was a reasonable call based on the data we had at that time, CDC guidelines for schools, limited space to implement those guidelines, etc Many districts like ours also waited for teacher vaccines. No need to hash this all out again.

Anyway, it wasn’t her opinion on return-to-school that is the issue for this election, it’s her choosing to knowingly partner with bullies who refused to listen to other stakeholders and perspectives. Poor judgment, at best.

No, it was not reasonable. Again, if you read the piece, it was very clear early in the fall of 2020 that schools that fully opened were not super spreader sites. Also clear that local Catholic schools, etc. were able to be fully open. The data were there almost immediately. And APS stayed closed. Even as it became apparent children were being harmed.

In that environment, some parents got angrier and angrier as they watched their children suffer. Parents who wanted schools open were called teacher murderers, etc. It was a terrible environment. And in that, Miranda was a strong advocate for what was best for kids while also not being part of the loud angry mob. I give her credit for that. You are still mad at her, but please remember that some of those really angry parents had children who were really suffering. I remember people on AEM talking in detail about how some of their kids were really in crisis.

And, she didn't partner with bullies. She just shared an opinion (again, one eventually supported by data) that schools should have been open that other, loud/angry people also shared.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this posted elsewhere: https://www.gazetteleader.com/arlington/opinion/letter-turner-is-optimal-choice-in-school-board-race-6909377

To the editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Miranda Turner to receive the Democratic endorsement for the Arlington School Board election.

We have been elementary-school tutors for disadvantaged Arlington and D.C. students. We have witnessed the severe extent that the last few years have significantly diminished literacy and widened equity gaps. Our current reality is that Arlington has kids in fourth and fifth grade who are functionally illiterate. Instead of reading to learn, they are still struggling with learning to read.

Turner’s No. 1 priority is rightly on instruction. She advocates for an all-hands-on-deck approach to support classroom educators in their effort to reverse this trend. She supports increased instructional time, interventionists, tutoring and after-school and summer programs to counter the attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy.

Turner supports both equity and excellence. She recognizes that we must address achievement gaps and ensure that Arlington maintains high standards. Every student should be given the opportunity, access and support to reach his or her highest potential with advanced/accelerated classes.

Turner is a longtime Arlington resident and ardent APS volunteer, serving in several roles. She has a personal stake in school-system performance with three children. She is a successful attorney and community advocate. We are lucky she enthusiastically wants to serve on the School Board to help our community.

If you are an Arlington Democrat, please join us in supporting Miranda in the upcoming caucus.

Sam and Debbie Kirzner, Arlington

I think he is APE so no surprise. Her APE supporters are her base. We already knew that.

He's a retired guy in ArlDems who volunteers in the community. Try again.

Anti-APE folks just can't believe that a democrat was/is/could be a member of APE, can they?
I don't know if the people who signed the letter were/were not or are/are not part of APE. And I really don't care. But I"ll take their perspective as outlined in their letter more credibly than that of someone so anti-APE that they can't believe anyone but a MAGA republican could align with the group, and who can't move beyond it.

What are you talking about? I am no fan of APE but no one is saying that APE is all MAGA Republicans. There are some Dems in APE, there are a lot of DINOs in there, there are a lot of Republicans in there, there are Rs who voted in the last Dem caucus, and then there are the MAGA Republicans in there.

There are enough Rs in APE that they aligned with Republican positions during the pandemic. For instance, they were the only Arlington group that I can think of that didn't support our school board when it stood up to the overreaching by Youngkin in his politicized exec order prohibiting masking during the Omicrom surge.

Yes, standing in 2023, it's obvious that the mask mandate was the only thing between us and certain death and destruction. Are you really out here still fighting for masks?

There we go. APE tough guy ready to throw down about masks.

Nice job electing a POS republican just so you could drop the masks one month early. Way to ruin it for everyone.

You are so out of touch that you don't realize that most Dems now agree the mask mandates were irrelevant. You're still out there fighting old battles that don't even matter.

It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter one month after you elected Youngkin.

The point was that Republicans politicized covid/masks/vaccines/school openings/CRT/bathrooms/etc. Instead of rationally these topics, we get bullies, many Republican, who were trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

In 2023, that is relevant because we have POS R governor because of this politicization. And we have a SB candidate who stood by and watched all of that nastiness go down in her group and thought that was acceptable.

There you go again, trying to blame Miranda Turner for all of your political grievances.

I’m holding her accountable for her own actions.

She chose to lead that group and to continue leading that group.

Good luck with that. Fortunately other people are looking out for our students. You just keep holding your grudge on this insignificant portion of the internet.

Guess I like to hold people accountable for their actions. YMMV.

She has demonstrated that she tolerates bullying and failed to consider input from multiple stakeholders during a crisis. Fail.

1. School board members are going to be targets for bullying and criticism. She's shown she can handle that without question.
2. Failed to consider input from multiple stakeholders during a crisis? -- she was leading a specific group of people with a specific position and goal. That was her role. She wasn't in charge of a multi-perspective, multi-interest group. Although, I would imagine that even within APE there were some different opinions and attitudes (bulliers v. non-bulliers for example) which she probably had to contend with and may only be known by people who were actually involved. Nevertheless, as a SB member, her role will be different and she will need to represent and consider a wide range of opinions and perspectives. I have had the opportunity to speak with her personally and found her to be very aware and knowledgeable of different issues and opinions, as well as genuinely willing to listen. I know several other people, including strong anti-APErs, who have also spoken with her directly and have found her to be the same. She also has good working relationships with multiple current board members (clearly not with RG who apparently doesn't have the maturity to merely not endorse rather than endorse an obvious unqualified ambitious politician wannabe) and APS staff....those are the people she will need to be able to work with and she has and is.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this posted elsewhere: https://www.gazetteleader.com/arlington/opinion/letter-turner-is-optimal-choice-in-school-board-race-6909377

To the editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Miranda Turner to receive the Democratic endorsement for the Arlington School Board election.

We have been elementary-school tutors for disadvantaged Arlington and D.C. students. We have witnessed the severe extent that the last few years have significantly diminished literacy and widened equity gaps. Our current reality is that Arlington has kids in fourth and fifth grade who are functionally illiterate. Instead of reading to learn, they are still struggling with learning to read.

Turner’s No. 1 priority is rightly on instruction. She advocates for an all-hands-on-deck approach to support classroom educators in their effort to reverse this trend. She supports increased instructional time, interventionists, tutoring and after-school and summer programs to counter the attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy.

Turner supports both equity and excellence. She recognizes that we must address achievement gaps and ensure that Arlington maintains high standards. Every student should be given the opportunity, access and support to reach his or her highest potential with advanced/accelerated classes.

Turner is a longtime Arlington resident and ardent APS volunteer, serving in several roles. She has a personal stake in school-system performance with three children. She is a successful attorney and community advocate. We are lucky she enthusiastically wants to serve on the School Board to help our community.

If you are an Arlington Democrat, please join us in supporting Miranda in the upcoming caucus.

Sam and Debbie Kirzner, Arlington

I think he is APE so no surprise. Her APE supporters are her base. We already knew that.

He's a retired guy in ArlDems who volunteers in the community. Try again.

Anti-APE folks just can't believe that a democrat was/is/could be a member of APE, can they?
I don't know if the people who signed the letter were/were not or are/are not part of APE. And I really don't care. But I"ll take their perspective as outlined in their letter more credibly than that of someone so anti-APE that they can't believe anyone but a MAGA republican could align with the group, and who can't move beyond it.

What are you talking about? I am no fan of APE but no one is saying that APE is all MAGA Republicans. There are some Dems in APE, there are a lot of DINOs in there, there are a lot of Republicans in there, there are Rs who voted in the last Dem caucus, and then there are the MAGA Republicans in there.

There are enough Rs in APE that they aligned with Republican positions during the pandemic. For instance, they were the only Arlington group that I can think of that didn't support our school board when it stood up to the overreaching by Youngkin in his politicized exec order prohibiting masking during the Omicrom surge.

Yes, standing in 2023, it's obvious that the mask mandate was the only thing between us and certain death and destruction. Are you really out here still fighting for masks?

There we go. APE tough guy ready to throw down about masks.

Nice job electing a POS republican just so you could drop the masks one month early. Way to ruin it for everyone.

You are so out of touch that you don't realize that most Dems now agree the mask mandates were irrelevant. You're still out there fighting old battles that don't even matter.

It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter one month after you elected Youngkin.

The point was that Republicans politicized covid/masks/vaccines/school openings/CRT/bathrooms/etc. Instead of rationally these topics, we get bullies, many Republican, who were trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

In 2023, that is relevant because we have POS R governor because of this politicization. And we have a SB candidate who stood by and watched all of that nastiness go down in her group and thought that was acceptable.

There you go again, trying to blame Miranda Turner for all of your political grievances.

I’m holding her accountable for her own actions.

She chose to lead that group and to continue leading that group.

We get it. Sounds like she doesn't need your votes.

She picked up Matt de Ferranti today

https://twitter.com/Miranda4APS/status/1652004751964504068?s=20

But this one from an ASHPA leader is something else.

https://twitter.com/Miranda4APS/status/1651951652117663745?s=20

What is ASHPA?

Arlington Schools Hispanic Parents Association. They are an active community group and this endorsement means something.

Also glad to see Mr. de Ferranti’s sane position.

MdF is a vapid, party-line sheep. His endorsement - and that of his ilk (Hynes, etc) are meaningless and merely signify "this is who the party people support."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Arlington made reasonable choices, similar to what many other school districts made. We aren't debating that right now though, no matter how many times you want to bring it up. We are discussing the school board candidates.

We aren't discussing Turner's opinions, we are discussing her actions and approach. She was comfortable with her people bullying others and she was comfortable not listening to various stakeholders. Those are disqualifying behaviors for me.

Her choosing to attempt to lead a group of people advocating for the same goals does not mean she was comfortable with the obnoxious behavior of some of the group's members. Unless you were part of the group and interacted with her and them together directly, you don't have a clue what she did or didn't do behind the scenes or know for fact that she "was comfortable" with their behaviors.
I really don't understand your point about not listening to various stakeholders. She was part of a group advocating for a certain position. Why would she listen to other stakeholders who were free to do (and did) their own advocating for their own positions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Arlington made reasonable choices, similar to what many other school districts made. We aren't debating that right now though, no matter how many times you want to bring it up. We are discussing the school board candidates.

We aren't discussing Turner's opinions, we are discussing her actions and approach. She was comfortable with her people bullying others and she was comfortable not listening to various stakeholders. Those are disqualifying behaviors for me.

Her choosing to attempt to lead a group of people advocating for the same goals does not mean she was comfortable with the obnoxious behavior of some of the group's members. Unless you were part of the group and interacted with her and them together directly, you don't have a clue what she did or didn't do behind the scenes or know for fact that she "was comfortable" with their behaviors.
I really don't understand your point about not listening to various stakeholders. She was part of a group advocating for a certain position. Why would she listen to other stakeholders who were free to do (and did) their own advocating for their own positions?

She was comfortable enough to continue working with those people in APE for years. And then on her first campaign. And now her second.

If you’re trying to have a rational community discussion that requires working with various stakeholders. It’s ineffective - and damaging - to try to scream over everyone else. Perhaps if her group tried to engage others instead of bullying them we could have had an actual conversation.

[Anonymous]

I suppose that's good for MT because a few nutters on DCUM think she's a republican operative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this posted elsewhere: https://www.gazetteleader.com/arlington/opinion/letter-turner-is-optimal-choice-in-school-board-race-6909377

To the editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Miranda Turner to receive the Democratic endorsement for the Arlington School Board election.

We have been elementary-school tutors for disadvantaged Arlington and D.C. students. We have witnessed the severe extent that the last few years have significantly diminished literacy and widened equity gaps. Our current reality is that Arlington has kids in fourth and fifth grade who are functionally illiterate. Instead of reading to learn, they are still struggling with learning to read.

Turner’s No. 1 priority is rightly on instruction. She advocates for an all-hands-on-deck approach to support classroom educators in their effort to reverse this trend. She supports increased instructional time, interventionists, tutoring and after-school and summer programs to counter the attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy.

Turner supports both equity and excellence. She recognizes that we must address achievement gaps and ensure that Arlington maintains high standards. Every student should be given the opportunity, access and support to reach his or her highest potential with advanced/accelerated classes.

Turner is a longtime Arlington resident and ardent APS volunteer, serving in several roles. She has a personal stake in school-system performance with three children. She is a successful attorney and community advocate. We are lucky she enthusiastically wants to serve on the School Board to help our community.

If you are an Arlington Democrat, please join us in supporting Miranda in the upcoming caucus.

Sam and Debbie Kirzner, Arlington

I think he is APE so no surprise. Her APE supporters are her base. We already knew that.

He's a retired guy in ArlDems who volunteers in the community. Try again.

Anti-APE folks just can't believe that a democrat was/is/could be a member of APE, can they?
I don't know if the people who signed the letter were/were not or are/are not part of APE. And I really don't care. But I"ll take their perspective as outlined in their letter more credibly than that of someone so anti-APE that they can't believe anyone but a MAGA republican could align with the group, and who can't move beyond it.

What are you talking about? I am no fan of APE but no one is saying that APE is all MAGA Republicans. There are some Dems in APE, there are a lot of DINOs in there, there are a lot of Republicans in there, there are Rs who voted in the last Dem caucus, and then there are the MAGA Republicans in there.

There are enough Rs in APE that they aligned with Republican positions during the pandemic. For instance, they were the only Arlington group that I can think of that didn't support our school board when it stood up to the overreaching by Youngkin in his politicized exec order prohibiting masking during the Omicrom surge.

Yes, standing in 2023, it's obvious that the mask mandate was the only thing between us and certain death and destruction. Are you really out here still fighting for masks?

There we go. APE tough guy ready to throw down about masks.

Nice job electing a POS republican just so you could drop the masks one month early. Way to ruin it for everyone.

You are so out of touch that you don't realize that most Dems now agree the mask mandates were irrelevant. You're still out there fighting old battles that don't even matter.

It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter one month after you elected Youngkin.

The point was that Republicans politicized covid/masks/vaccines/school openings/CRT/bathrooms/etc. Instead of rationally these topics, we get bullies, many Republican, who were trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

In 2023, that is relevant because we have POS R governor because of this politicization. And we have a SB candidate who stood by and watched all of that nastiness go down in her group and thought that was acceptable.

There you go again, trying to blame Miranda Turner for all of your political grievances.

I’m holding her accountable for her own actions.

She chose to lead that group and to continue leading that group.

We get it. Sounds like she doesn't need your votes.

She picked up Matt de Ferranti today

https://twitter.com/Miranda4APS/status/1652004751964504068?s=20

But this one from an ASHPA leader is something else.

https://twitter.com/Miranda4APS/status/1651951652117663745?s=20

What is ASHPA?

Arlington Schools Hispanic Parents Association. They are an active community group and this endorsement means something.

Also glad to see Mr. de Ferranti’s sane position.

MdF is a vapid, party-line sheep. His endorsement - and that of his ilk (Hynes, etc) are meaningless and merely signify "this is who the party people support."

I suppose that's good for MT because a few nutters on DCUM think she's a republican operative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Arlington made reasonable choices, similar to what many other school districts made. We aren't debating that right now though, no matter how many times you want to bring it up. We are discussing the school board candidates.

We aren't discussing Turner's opinions, we are discussing her actions and approach. She was comfortable with her people bullying others and she was comfortable not listening to various stakeholders. Those are disqualifying behaviors for me.

Her choosing to attempt to lead a group of people advocating for the same goals does not mean she was comfortable with the obnoxious behavior of some of the group's members. Unless you were part of the group and interacted with her and them together directly, you don't have a clue what she did or didn't do behind the scenes or know for fact that she "was comfortable" with their behaviors.
I really don't understand your point about not listening to various stakeholders. She was part of a group advocating for a certain position. Why would she listen to other stakeholders who were free to do (and did) their own advocating for their own positions?

She was comfortable enough to continue working with those people in APE for years. And then on her first campaign. And now her second.

If you’re trying to have a rational community discussion that requires working with various stakeholders. It’s ineffective - and damaging - to try to scream over everyone else. Perhaps if her group tried to engage others instead of bullying them we could have had an actual conversation.

This might be my favorite post of the entire thread. The advise to "engage others" is coming from the poster who responds to every single post with a comment about MT's "bullying" antics. You literally attack anyone who offers a different opinion.

In all seriousness, you are not capable of a conversation. Your posts are obsessive and not advancing any dialogue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this posted elsewhere: https://www.gazetteleader.com/arlington/opinion/letter-turner-is-optimal-choice-in-school-board-race-6909377

To the editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Miranda Turner to receive the Democratic endorsement for the Arlington School Board election.

We have been elementary-school tutors for disadvantaged Arlington and D.C. students. We have witnessed the severe extent that the last few years have significantly diminished literacy and widened equity gaps. Our current reality is that Arlington has kids in fourth and fifth grade who are functionally illiterate. Instead of reading to learn, they are still struggling with learning to read.

Turner’s No. 1 priority is rightly on instruction. She advocates for an all-hands-on-deck approach to support classroom educators in their effort to reverse this trend. She supports increased instructional time, interventionists, tutoring and after-school and summer programs to counter the attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy.

Turner supports both equity and excellence. She recognizes that we must address achievement gaps and ensure that Arlington maintains high standards. Every student should be given the opportunity, access and support to reach his or her highest potential with advanced/accelerated classes.

Turner is a longtime Arlington resident and ardent APS volunteer, serving in several roles. She has a personal stake in school-system performance with three children. She is a successful attorney and community advocate. We are lucky she enthusiastically wants to serve on the School Board to help our community.

If you are an Arlington Democrat, please join us in supporting Miranda in the upcoming caucus.

Sam and Debbie Kirzner, Arlington

I think he is APE so no surprise. Her APE supporters are her base. We already knew that.

He's a retired guy in ArlDems who volunteers in the community. Try again.

Anti-APE folks just can't believe that a democrat was/is/could be a member of APE, can they?
I don't know if the people who signed the letter were/were not or are/are not part of APE. And I really don't care. But I"ll take their perspective as outlined in their letter more credibly than that of someone so anti-APE that they can't believe anyone but a MAGA republican could align with the group, and who can't move beyond it.

What are you talking about? I am no fan of APE but no one is saying that APE is all MAGA Republicans. There are some Dems in APE, there are a lot of DINOs in there, there are a lot of Republicans in there, there are Rs who voted in the last Dem caucus, and then there are the MAGA Republicans in there.

There are enough Rs in APE that they aligned with Republican positions during the pandemic. For instance, they were the only Arlington group that I can think of that didn't support our school board when it stood up to the overreaching by Youngkin in his politicized exec order prohibiting masking during the Omicrom surge.

Yes, standing in 2023, it's obvious that the mask mandate was the only thing between us and certain death and destruction. Are you really out here still fighting for masks?

There we go. APE tough guy ready to throw down about masks.

Nice job electing a POS republican just so you could drop the masks one month early. Way to ruin it for everyone.

You are so out of touch that you don't realize that most Dems now agree the mask mandates were irrelevant. You're still out there fighting old battles that don't even matter.

It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter one month after you elected Youngkin.

The point was that Republicans politicized covid/masks/vaccines/school openings/CRT/bathrooms/etc. Instead of rationally these topics, we get bullies, many Republican, who were trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

In 2023, that is relevant because we have POS R governor because of this politicization. And we have a SB candidate who stood by and watched all of that nastiness go down in her group and thought that was acceptable.

Yes and she did not object to it as the leader of APE. The entire then school board stood up to Youngkin but Miranda did not. That tells me everything I need to know about her. I don't want a board member who will align with Youngkin.

We’re talking about mask mandates, yes? Not something that actually matters?

We're talking about standing up to Youngkin. I think that matter. Maybe you don't.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Saw this posted elsewhere: https://www.gazetteleader.com/arlington/opinion/letter-turner-is-optimal-choice-in-school-board-race-6909377

To the editor: We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Miranda Turner to receive the Democratic endorsement for the Arlington School Board election.

We have been elementary-school tutors for disadvantaged Arlington and D.C. students. We have witnessed the severe extent that the last few years have significantly diminished literacy and widened equity gaps. Our current reality is that Arlington has kids in fourth and fifth grade who are functionally illiterate. Instead of reading to learn, they are still struggling with learning to read.

Turner’s No. 1 priority is rightly on instruction. She advocates for an all-hands-on-deck approach to support classroom educators in their effort to reverse this trend. She supports increased instructional time, interventionists, tutoring and after-school and summer programs to counter the attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy.

Turner supports both equity and excellence. She recognizes that we must address achievement gaps and ensure that Arlington maintains high standards. Every student should be given the opportunity, access and support to reach his or her highest potential with advanced/accelerated classes.

Turner is a longtime Arlington resident and ardent APS volunteer, serving in several roles. She has a personal stake in school-system performance with three children. She is a successful attorney and community advocate. We are lucky she enthusiastically wants to serve on the School Board to help our community.

If you are an Arlington Democrat, please join us in supporting Miranda in the upcoming caucus.

Sam and Debbie Kirzner, Arlington

I think he is APE so no surprise. Her APE supporters are her base. We already knew that.

He's a retired guy in ArlDems who volunteers in the community. Try again.

Anti-APE folks just can't believe that a democrat was/is/could be a member of APE, can they?
I don't know if the people who signed the letter were/were not or are/are not part of APE. And I really don't care. But I"ll take their perspective as outlined in their letter more credibly than that of someone so anti-APE that they can't believe anyone but a MAGA republican could align with the group, and who can't move beyond it.

What are you talking about? I am no fan of APE but no one is saying that APE is all MAGA Republicans. There are some Dems in APE, there are a lot of DINOs in there, there are a lot of Republicans in there, there are Rs who voted in the last Dem caucus, and then there are the MAGA Republicans in there.

There are enough Rs in APE that they aligned with Republican positions during the pandemic. For instance, they were the only Arlington group that I can think of that didn't support our school board when it stood up to the overreaching by Youngkin in his politicized exec order prohibiting masking during the Omicrom surge.

Yes, standing in 2023, it's obvious that the mask mandate was the only thing between us and certain death and destruction. Are you really out here still fighting for masks?

There we go. APE tough guy ready to throw down about masks.

Nice job electing a POS republican just so you could drop the masks one month early. Way to ruin it for everyone.

You are so out of touch that you don't realize that most Dems now agree the mask mandates were irrelevant. You're still out there fighting old battles that don't even matter.

It doesn’t matter now. It didn’t matter one month after you elected Youngkin.

The point was that Republicans politicized covid/masks/vaccines/school openings/CRT/bathrooms/etc. Instead of rationally these topics, we get bullies, many Republican, who were trying to force their beliefs on everyone else.

In 2023, that is relevant because we have POS R governor because of this politicization. And we have a SB candidate who stood by and watched all of that nastiness go down in her group and thought that was acceptable.

There you go again, trying to blame Miranda Turner for all of your political grievances.

I’m holding her accountable for her own actions.

She chose to lead that group and to continue leading that group.

Good luck with that. Fortunately other people are looking out for our students. You just keep holding your grudge on this insignificant portion of the internet.

Guess I like to hold people accountable for their actions. YMMV.

She has demonstrated that she tolerates bullying and failed to consider input from multiple stakeholders during a crisis. Fail.

1. School board members are going to be targets for bullying and criticism. She's shown she can handle that without question.

How so? She wasn't the target. She was aligned with the people screaming AT the school board members. And teachers. And even shouting down other (brown) parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder - when Miranda wins the Democratic endorsement, will all of the anti-APE people on this thread complain that the primary process is unfair? Delicious irony if so.

I'll get back to you on that after we see how many of Miranda's Dem for a Day friends in APE vote in the Dem caucus this time.

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Anonymous wrote:I find it very surprising that so many people in Arlington still stand behind our long return to in-person learning for almost all kids 5 days a week, when the data are so overwhelming that this was a bad call -- even if it was a well-intentioned bad call.

No one is debating the return to classroom timing, except you.

We are discussing SB candidates and what they bring to the table. Unfortunately, we have no good options this year so it’s a tough conversation.

That's not true. Many people here think APS was right to not have kids back for any amount of time until all teachers had been vaccinated (and even then it was not full time). Someone in this thread called that reasonable. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision that did a huge amount of damage. It's relevant, because what Miranda was advocating for then has, in fact, been now demonstrated to have been the correct action. But the main thing people seem to hold against her is that she held that (now shown to be correct, very unpopular at time) opinion. And, since then, one of the primary things she is focused on is trying to help students recover from that bad decision. So it's all very relevant.

Arlington still has not, and I think, sadly, will not, admit that we erred very badly here.

Arlington made reasonable choices, similar to what many other school districts made. We aren't debating that right now though, no matter how many times you want to bring it up. We are discussing the school board candidates.

We aren't discussing Turner's opinions, we are discussing her actions and approach. She was comfortable with her people bullying others and she was comfortable not listening to various stakeholders. Those are disqualifying behaviors for me.

Her choosing to attempt to lead a group of people advocating for the same goals does not mean she was comfortable with the obnoxious behavior of some of the group's members. Unless you were part of the group and interacted with her and them together directly, you don't have a clue what she did or didn't do behind the scenes or know for fact that she "was comfortable" with their behaviors.
I really don't understand your point about not listening to various stakeholders. She was part of a group advocating for a certain position. Why would she listen to other stakeholders who were free to do (and did) their own advocating for their own positions?

She was comfortable enough to continue working with those people in APE for years. And then on her first campaign. And now her second.

If you’re trying to have a rational community discussion that requires working with various stakeholders. It’s ineffective - and damaging - to try to scream over everyone else. Perhaps if her group tried to engage others instead of bullying them we could have had an actual conversation.

This might be my favorite post of the entire thread. The advise to "engage others" is coming from the poster who responds to every single post with a comment about MT's "bullying" antics. You literally attack anyone who offers a different opinion.

In all seriousness, you are not capable of a conversation. Your posts are obsessive and not advancing any dialogue.

I haven’t attacked anyone here.

I’m sharing my opinions about the actions of a school board candidate.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone else notice that APE's newsletter highlights and lauds the Congressional testimony of the director of an organization that is for channeling public money to private schools and against "radical" CRT and "gender ideology" in public schools?

As a reminder APE is the group that Miranda founded and led.

It only takes a couple of clicks to see the connection between APE and this right wing group -

https://www.arlingtonparentsforeducation.org/enews/april-20-2023/#Hearing

https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Gentles-testimony_-The-Consequences-of-School-Closures_-Intended-and-Unintended.pdf

https://www.iwf.org/efc/