Question on APE (or other APS related groups)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another word salad press release from APE on the issue of masks and now one of the bro dads is angry because it said too much and doesn’t represent his views:

January 18, 2022
(Arlington, VA) While we understand that much of the focus of our community, elected officials, media, and school administrators over the last few days has been on a single topic that has inflamed public commentary, as a group of parents and teachers, our organization’s focus remains on keeping students in school five days a week and ensuring excellent education. We would hope all stakeholders are willing to make that goal their stated and public priority as well. APE is a bipartisan organization of parents, teachers, and students in Arlington, and we strongly support keeping students in school because we know how harmful it is to keep them out. We also have always supported both parental input into the decisions that affect their children and evidence-based protocols that are known to be effective. For more than a year and a half, APE has urged APS to engage in meaningful discussion with the community on pandemic instruction and mitigation and for the School Board to vote on significant issues that affect all students. The issue of masking is one that has divided many communities, but we are hopeful that through a good governance approach – a transparent process that examines the evidence and engages with families, teachers, and the community, leading to development of a clear policy and a public vote by our elected officials – that Arlington might avoid such division.

Well at least we know APE doesn't support masks in school.

[Anonymous]

OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

The stuff with the teachers last year is unforgettable and unforgivable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

It’s very shady. You have to dig on the website to find the information about the being a 501c4. Most other organizations have it very visible. They even have a link to donate to APE (why??), but again it doesn’t make it clear that you’re donating to a registered lobbying organization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

The stuff with the teachers last year is unforgettable and unforgivable.

+1

They showed us their true character by how they treated teachers last year. Inexcusable.

[Anonymous]

Ah, the rabid pit bulls have arrived. Ignore them, OP, it’s a personal vendetta for them.

[Anonymous]

The conspiracy theorists on this thread are trolls. OP, welcome to Arlington. APE, AEM, and Smart Restart were all started by APS parents who were heavily involved in their school PTAs and already involved in APS in various county-wide committees before COVID. The idea that any of these groups is backed by dark money or other secrets is just crazy talk. We've been in APS for almost 10 years now, and I have personally worked on committees at various times with all the leaders of the three organizations that you listed. APS is a shit show that has been getting worse every year, and honestly all of the organizations have the same end goal, which is to turn the ship around. Some of these parents worked together pre-pandemic on school capacity issues and were actually friends, so it is too bad that COVID has created so many hard feelings.

The root of a lot of the APS disorganization is that the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) controls the School Board. They hold an endorsement caucus each spring, to pick the ACDC-backed candidate for School Board. Then in November, ACDC passes out sample ballots at all the polling locations, so if you are a 23 year old showing up to vote for President, you just also check whatever box the ACDC tells you to pick for the county races. For the past decade, ACDC has viewed School Board as a practice position to be a stepping stone to County Board or other higher office. They don't really care about the schools. This has led to a School Board dominated by board members without any kids in APS-- mostly boomers, but more recently a childless millennial who ACDC views as up and coming in the party. Board members pursue their pet issues for political soundbites, while totally ignoring the bigger problems in the school system. ACDC bears as much responsibility for Youngkin's election as anyone. I am sure that their manipulation of the school board did lead some Democrats in Arlington Co to break for Youngkin.

I don't align with all of APE's positions, but I am glad that they are there now. Once all the pandemic fighting blows over, they might actually be an effective counter-balance to the ACDC's influence on APS. We need more parents on the School Board who understand what is going on. We don't need figurehead School Board members who are one foot out the door before they even hit the dais.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

It’s very shady. You have to dig on the website to find the information about the being a 501c4. Most other organizations have it very visible. They even have a link to donate to APE (why??), but again it doesn’t make it clear that you’re donating to a registered lobbying organization.

You don't have to dig, it's on the About Us page and the Donate page. My organization has a C4 affiliate and the status is in fine print at the very bottom of the page. You can attack APE all you want, but saying that the C4 status is shady or not disclosed clearly enough is silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

It’s very shady. You have to dig on the website to find the information about the being a 501c4. Most other organizations have it very visible. They even have a link to donate to APE (why??), but again it doesn’t make it clear that you’re donating to a registered lobbying organization.

You don't have to dig, it's on the About Us page and the Donate page. My organization has a C4 affiliate and the status is in fine print at the very bottom of the page. You can attack APE all you want, but saying that the C4 status is shady or not disclosed clearly enough is silly.

Do C4 orgs need to disclose donors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the rabid pit bulls have arrived. Ignore them, OP, it’s a personal vendetta for them.

It's hard to forget the APE parents full of rage, frothing at the mouth, screaming at teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you wandered into a group that sounds reasonable on its face but is not. APE has bullied teachers and parents, belittled teachers, admins, Dr. Duran. Screamed at the School Board. They have a terrible reputation in APS. Be careful about associating with them.

APE is not just a parent group. APE is a 501c4 lobbying group. Do they not disclose that to their new members? That's shady.

It’s very shady. You have to dig on the website to find the information about the being a 501c4. Most other organizations have it very visible. They even have a link to donate to APE (why??), but again it doesn’t make it clear that you’re donating to a registered lobbying organization.

You don't have to dig, it's on the About Us page and the Donate page. My organization has a C4 affiliate and the status is in fine print at the very bottom of the page. You can attack APE all you want, but saying that the C4 status is shady or not disclosed clearly enough is silly.

Do C4 orgs need to disclose donors?

To the IRS, yes. To you, no. Same as C3s.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Honestly I wish all these groups would direct energy to the elephant in the room problem:!the desperate need for a 4th comprehensive high school. If you are new to APS, that is what you should be paying attention to.

APS tried that but it was scuttled by the parents whose kids would actually attend. What alternative proposal do you have for a fourth comprehensive high school?

No they planned a half-baked school, in “central arl” without pool or football field. So 2nd class school compared to other 3. They have NEVER put forth a full comprehensive school, and the Kenmore site is the place to do it.

A third school on the same site using that same tiny driveway? You’re joking, right?

They talked about access from Fairfax side. What is your alternative? 5000 student WL and Wakefield?

Fairfax refused to allow access from the Fairfax side, which is what scuttled the plan the first time.

That was retaliation for us cancelling the streetcar. Perhaps they won’t always hold a grudge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I wish all these groups would direct energy to the elephant in the room problem:!the desperate need for a 4th comprehensive high school. If you are new to APS, that is what you should be paying attention to.

APS tried that but it was scuttled by the parents whose kids would actually attend. What alternative proposal do you have for a fourth comprehensive high school?

No they planned a half-baked school, in “central arl” without pool or football field. So 2nd class school compared to other 3. They have NEVER put forth a full comprehensive school, and the Kenmore site is the place to do it.

A third school on the same site using that same tiny driveway? You’re joking, right?

They talked about access from Fairfax side. What is your alternative? 5000 student WL and Wakefield?

Fairfax refused to allow access from the Fairfax side, which is what scuttled the plan the first time.

That was retaliation for us cancelling the streetcar. Perhaps they won’t always hold a grudge?

It seems unlikely. It was what, 8 years ago? If they went forward with the planning and the only thing that was holding stuff up was this one element of FFX's cooperation, the county would be able to shine a spotlight on it and it would get done. But barring that, it's an easy excuse to use to not start any planning at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I wish all these groups would direct energy to the elephant in the room problem:!the desperate need for a 4th comprehensive high school. If you are new to APS, that is what you should be paying attention to.

APS tried that but it was scuttled by the parents whose kids would actually attend. What alternative proposal do you have for a fourth comprehensive high school?

No they planned a half-baked school, in “central arl” without pool or football field. So 2nd class school compared to other 3. They have NEVER put forth a full comprehensive school, and the Kenmore site is the place to do it.

A third school on the same site using that same tiny driveway? You’re joking, right?

They talked about access from Fairfax side. What is your alternative? 5000 student WL and Wakefield?

Fairfax refused to allow access from the Fairfax side, which is what scuttled the plan the first time.

That was retaliation for us cancelling the streetcar. Perhaps they won’t always hold a grudge?

It seems unlikely. It was what, 8 years ago? If they went forward with the planning and the only thing that was holding stuff up was this one element of FFX's cooperation, the county would be able to shine a spotlight on it and it would get done. But barring that, it's an easy excuse to use to not start any planning at all.

THIS.
Access from the FFX side might be helpful; but Arlington can do other things to make the site more traffic-friendly, or at least as traffic-friendly as the least traffic-friendly existing Arlington HS.
There is sufficient land on the Kenmore property along Carlin Springs to create another lane for cars and buses coming to the site. A multi-story parking garage would provide sufficient parking. They could look into potential ways to use the front entrance way to Carlin Springs ES. There's still an access road between the facility and 50 they could probably do something with.
It's all just excuses for both SB and CB. CB doesn't want APS to build another high school. SB wants to avoid it as much/long as possible and only wants to use the paths of least resistance when it comes to siting new facilities. They don't want to deal with the pushback from Glencarlyn again.

[Anonymous]

People are saying, "APE can't be shady, it was started by an involved parent." That's like saying, "That restaurant can't be a money laundering front, they make a great tuna melt!" That's the whole point of a front. There's the legitimate component to it (grassroots! local!), and then there's also the illegitimate component to it (dark money! ties to National Republican Senatorial Committee!), but the whole reason for its existence is the illegitimate component. Even though you can't see who is funding their lobbying because of how they chose to incorporate, you can look up who donated to the founder's political campaign. You can look up who the spouses of the executive board have worked for. Make up your own mind then, oh critical thinker.