APS boundary process this fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

I like that last suggestion.

Personally, I would rather my kids be at a school that's not packed to the seams and take a bus. We are walkers for Swanson. Walking has value but these kids are packed into that school all day every day and that has a much bigger impact on them. I don't think I'm the only person who feels that way? Maybe I am. And yes, I understand I could choose a transfer.

Isn't it better to have the option to transfer than to be forced to switch in a boundary shift? I know lots of kids who transferred out of Swanson and they were very happy to have that option.

Maybe but people want their neighbors to be zoned with them, and since most don’t want to give up walking you generally are alone in this choice.

Nearly every rising 6th grader I know who was zoned for Swanson tried to transfer this year. It was a large cohort and, if anyone felt alone, it was the kids who didn't get picked to transfer.

That's really ironic because during the last boundary process, my recollection is APS wanted to move Swanson kids out, but Swanson parents lobbied for them to stay. Of course APS caved, and that's why Swanson is overcrowded now and Hamm and WMS are under enrolled.

And of course the kids of the loud parents who just HAD to stay at Swanson are now past middle school....

And I think this is at least partially due to declining enrollment post covid in that section of the County. A trend that clearly isn't going to reverse itself at this point.

It also has to do with the bad projections from the planning staff (the rezoning was precovid). Everyone told them they were overestimating the number of kids who would be at hamm and they would not listen. They thought hamm would open at over 100% capacity! It opened at like 80.
Personally I’d like to see them redo the boundary so that everything is more balanced, but it’s very disruptive and really can hurt the sense of community. Doing them every few years seems a bit much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's do the math everyone.

Hamm and Williamsburg are comfy so there is no issue? Amirite?

Piss off everyone else.

Please notice the sections of the County where it's no big deal at all to have capacity at near 100 percent or over.

So move Immersion to Williamsburg so the seats open up at Gunston and then balance. They'll say that kids won't stay with the program, but they said that about the Key move too. Problem solved, walkers (mostly) stay walkers.

This conversation goes in circles, which is why APS is abdicating its responsibility to do anything.

That would kill the immersion program long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's do the math everyone.

Hamm and Williamsburg are comfy so there is no issue? Amirite?

Piss off everyone else.

Please notice the sections of the County where it's no big deal at all to have capacity at near 100 percent or over.

Nothing this board loves more than hating on Hamm. Bloodsport for you all. You refuse to acknowledge the lunacy of busing kids who live half a mile from Hamm (me) 4 miles away to Williamsburg, when there are plenty of PUs closer to WMS that could be moved.

No one wants overcrowded schools anywhere. But keep using that straw man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's do the math everyone.

Hamm and Williamsburg are comfy so there is no issue? Amirite?

Piss off everyone else.

Please notice the sections of the County where it's no big deal at all to have capacity at near 100 percent or over.

Nothing this board loves more than hating on Hamm. Bloodsport for you all. You refuse to acknowledge the lunacy of busing kids who live half a mile from Hamm (me) 4 miles away to Williamsburg, when there are plenty of PUs closer to WMS that could be moved.

No one wants overcrowded schools anywhere. But keep using that straw man.

Yes, I can see how broken up you are for other people's children and all the realistic solutions being offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's do the math everyone.

Hamm and Williamsburg are comfy so there is no issue? Amirite?

Piss off everyone else.

Please notice the sections of the County where it's no big deal at all to have capacity at near 100 percent or over.

So move Immersion to Williamsburg so the seats open up at Gunston and then balance. They'll say that kids won't stay with the program, but they said that about the Key move too. Problem solved, walkers (mostly) stay walkers.

This conversation goes in circles, which is why APS is abdicating its responsibility to do anything.

That would kill the immersion program long-term.

APS royally screwed up with their last proposal. It didn't make sense for a score of reasons and got everyone worked up. I think there are more sensible proposals than anything in that mess.

I'm curious to see how numbers look this fall with voluntary transfers. I know Hamm filled all their transfer seats, as I know people are on the waitlist still. Does anyone know if WMS has a transfer waitlist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

I like that last suggestion.

Personally, I would rather my kids be at a school that's not packed to the seams and take a bus. We are walkers for Swanson. Walking has value but these kids are packed into that school all day every day and that has a much bigger impact on them. I don't think I'm the only person who feels that way? Maybe I am. And yes, I understand I could choose a transfer.

Isn't it better to have the option to transfer than to be forced to switch in a boundary shift? I know lots of kids who transferred out of Swanson and they were very happy to have that option.

Maybe but people want their neighbors to be zoned with them, and since most don’t want to give up walking you generally are alone in this choice.

Nearly every rising 6th grader I know who was zoned for Swanson tried to transfer this year. It was a large cohort and, if anyone felt alone, it was the kids who didn't get picked to transfer.

Thats great. How many of those who requested transfers are walkers? We can shuffle around bused planning units, but risk ending up with long bus rides -- so better to make that an optional endeavor.

I know a bunch of voluntary transfers who are bike riders or walkers. A big chunk of the Swanson zone is an easy commute to Hamm or WMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

Does it though? A couple of the middle schools hover around over stuffed while Williamsburg is pretty empty and just getting more empty. We can all kick the can down the road so the Hamm people don't freak out again, but it doesn't seem like strategic decision making or good use of facilities at all.

Hamm isn't overcrowded and the zone isn't situated between the overcapacity schools and Williamsburg. It doesn't actually need to be involved in a meaningful way.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/08/MS_Boundaries_SY24_25_V2.pdf

This is what it boils down to. The Hamm people are blocking what is best for the greater good. There aren't enough contiguous PUs to fill Williamsburg appropriately without affecting Hamm, but we get it you don't care about anyone else and want to walk.

Uh, the last boundary process died because APS planning has made a major hash of things (e.g., Nottingham) and schools weren't over capacity once they verified addresses. I don't think it died because of any single group, but because of APS incompetence.

Looking at the map, I don't understand why they can't just move students from Swanson to WMS. There's a long contiguous boundary with students who aren't that far from WMS. They could also move the rest of the Glebe kids to Hamm, which is also contiguous, freeing up more space at Swanson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

I like that last suggestion.

Personally, I would rather my kids be at a school that's not packed to the seams and take a bus. We are walkers for Swanson. Walking has value but these kids are packed into that school all day every day and that has a much bigger impact on them. I don't think I'm the only person who feels that way? Maybe I am. And yes, I understand I could choose a transfer.

Isn't it better to have the option to transfer than to be forced to switch in a boundary shift? I know lots of kids who transferred out of Swanson and they were very happy to have that option.

Maybe but people want their neighbors to be zoned with them, and since most don’t want to give up walking you generally are alone in this choice.

Nearly every rising 6th grader I know who was zoned for Swanson tried to transfer this year. It was a large cohort and, if anyone felt alone, it was the kids who didn't get picked to transfer.

What they should do is give certain PUs preference to transfer. That would probably pull enough kids. Like what they do with Cardinal.

They did give certain PUs preference to transfer this past year. That's how it worked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

Does it though? A couple of the middle schools hover around over stuffed while Williamsburg is pretty empty and just getting more empty. We can all kick the can down the road so the Hamm people don't freak out again, but it doesn't seem like strategic decision making or good use of facilities at all.

Hamm isn't overcrowded and the zone isn't situated between the overcapacity schools and Williamsburg. It doesn't actually need to be involved in a meaningful way.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/08/MS_Boundaries_SY24_25_V2.pdf

This is what it boils down to. The Hamm people are blocking what is best for the greater good. There aren't enough contiguous PUs to fill Williamsburg appropriately without affecting Hamm, but we get it you don't care about anyone else and want to walk.

Uh, the last boundary process died because APS planning has made a major hash of things (e.g., Nottingham) and schools weren't over capacity once they verified addresses. I don't think it died because of any single group, but because of APS incompetence.

Looking at the map, I don't understand why they can't just move students from Swanson to WMS. There's a long contiguous boundary with students who aren't that far from WMS. They could also move the rest of the Glebe kids to Hamm, which is also contiguous, freeing up more space at Swanson.

It would be too late for my daughter but moving all the Glebe kids to Dorthy Hamm would be her dream come true. By far, the split in friend groups from Glebe to Hamm or Swanson and then from Hamm to Yorktown or WL or Swanson to Yorktown or WL has been much more disruptive than the covid closures.

[Anonymous]

What about making ATS a feeder into WMS? That way friend groups could stay together post-elementary.

DC schools do this where option programs have their own feeder path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

Does it though? A couple of the middle schools hover around over stuffed while Williamsburg is pretty empty and just getting more empty. We can all kick the can down the road so the Hamm people don't freak out again, but it doesn't seem like strategic decision making or good use of facilities at all.

Hamm isn't overcrowded and the zone isn't situated between the overcapacity schools and Williamsburg. It doesn't actually need to be involved in a meaningful way.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/08/MS_Boundaries_SY24_25_V2.pdf

This is what it boils down to. The Hamm people are blocking what is best for the greater good. There aren't enough contiguous PUs to fill Williamsburg appropriately without affecting Hamm, but we get it you don't care about anyone else and want to walk.

Uh, the last boundary process died because APS planning has made a major hash of things (e.g., Nottingham) and schools weren't over capacity once they verified addresses. I don't think it died because of any single group, but because of APS incompetence.

Looking at the map, I don't understand why they can't just move students from Swanson to WMS. There's a long contiguous boundary with students who aren't that far from WMS. They could also move the rest of the Glebe kids to Hamm, which is also contiguous, freeing up more space at Swanson.

It would be too late for my daughter but moving all the Glebe kids to Dorthy Hamm would be her dream come true. By far, the split in friend groups from Glebe to Hamm or Swanson and then from Hamm to Yorktown or WL or Swanson to Yorktown or WL has been much more disruptive than the covid closures.

I really hope they fix the split from ASFS. The kids right now go to Hamm, Swanson and TJ. But it's really uneven how they split.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

I like that last suggestion.

Personally, I would rather my kids be at a school that's not packed to the seams and take a bus. We are walkers for Swanson. Walking has value but these kids are packed into that school all day every day and that has a much bigger impact on them. I don't think I'm the only person who feels that way? Maybe I am. And yes, I understand I could choose a transfer.

Isn't it better to have the option to transfer than to be forced to switch in a boundary shift? I know lots of kids who transferred out of Swanson and they were very happy to have that option.

Maybe but people want their neighbors to be zoned with them, and since most don’t want to give up walking you generally are alone in this choice.

Nearly every rising 6th grader I know who was zoned for Swanson tried to transfer this year. It was a large cohort and, if anyone felt alone, it was the kids who didn't get picked to transfer.

That's really ironic because during the last boundary process, my recollection is APS wanted to move Swanson kids out, but Swanson parents lobbied for them to stay. Of course APS caved, and that's why Swanson is overcrowded now and Hamm and WMS are under enrolled.

And of course the kids of the loud parents who just HAD to stay at Swanson are now past middle school....

Raises hand. Yes, I was around for this one. They tried to give some of the Swanson kids in Maidson Manor to Kenmore and those people flipped out.

Listening to the loud people never looks great in the rear view mirror.

Wasn’t Kenmore overcrowded, and that the APS staff plan was to move Kenmore families in Boulevard Manor and the other neighborhoods south of Wilson / west of Geo Mason drive to Swanson. The families vehemently objected to the move to Swanson. (A bunch of Swanson neighborhoods would’ve also moved to Williamsburg)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

I like that last suggestion.

Personally, I would rather my kids be at a school that's not packed to the seams and take a bus. We are walkers for Swanson. Walking has value but these kids are packed into that school all day every day and that has a much bigger impact on them. I don't think I'm the only person who feels that way? Maybe I am. And yes, I understand I could choose a transfer.

Isn't it better to have the option to transfer than to be forced to switch in a boundary shift? I know lots of kids who transferred out of Swanson and they were very happy to have that option.

Maybe but people want their neighbors to be zoned with them, and since most don’t want to give up walking you generally are alone in this choice.

Nearly every rising 6th grader I know who was zoned for Swanson tried to transfer this year. It was a large cohort and, if anyone felt alone, it was the kids who didn't get picked to transfer.

What they should do is give certain PUs preference to transfer. That would probably pull enough kids. Like what they do with Cardinal.

They did give certain PUs preference to transfer this past year. That's how it worked.

Didn't know this. They should make room for all the kids from the Nottingham/Tuckahoe units zoned to Swanson who want to go to Williamsburg. It sucks if some kids from this group, who already are in the smaller cohort from their elementary school going to Swanson, get left behind at Swanson if they wanted to go to Williamsburg. When Williamsburg has plenty of room!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of the schools hovering around 100 percent capacity, which feels crowded day to day, while one sits way under capacity is not a solution.

No one wants to give up walking or commit to a long bus ride.

At capacity changes year to year.

They should colocate HBW middle school students at WMS, and expand the HBW high school enrollment at the Heights.

Does it though? A couple of the middle schools hover around over stuffed while Williamsburg is pretty empty and just getting more empty. We can all kick the can down the road so the Hamm people don't freak out again, but it doesn't seem like strategic decision making or good use of facilities at all.

Hamm isn't overcrowded and the zone isn't situated between the overcapacity schools and Williamsburg. It doesn't actually need to be involved in a meaningful way.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/08/MS_Boundaries_SY24_25_V2.pdf

This is what it boils down to. The Hamm people are blocking what is best for the greater good. There aren't enough contiguous PUs to fill Williamsburg appropriately without affecting Hamm, but we get it you don't care about anyone else and want to walk.

Uh, the last boundary process died because APS planning has made a major hash of things (e.g., Nottingham) and schools weren't over capacity once they verified addresses. I don't think it died because of any single group, but because of APS incompetence.

Looking at the map, I don't understand why they can't just move students from Swanson to WMS. There's a long contiguous boundary with students who aren't that far from WMS. They could also move the rest of the Glebe kids to Hamm, which is also contiguous, freeing up more space at Swanson.

It would be too late for my daughter but moving all the Glebe kids to Dorthy Hamm would be her dream come true. By far, the split in friend groups from Glebe to Hamm or Swanson and then from Hamm to Yorktown or WL or Swanson to Yorktown or WL has been much more disruptive than the covid closures.

I really hope they fix the split from ASFS. The kids right now go to Hamm, Swanson and TJ. But it's really uneven how they split.

Abingdon has this same issue. It splits into 3 different middle schools. It sucks for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about making ATS a feeder into WMS? That way friend groups could stay together post-elementary.

DC schools do this where option programs have their own feeder path.

+1,000,000. Plus, you know it would immediately have a waitlist long enough to easily fill WMS.