APS Closing Nottingham

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord these Nottingham parents, I can't even. There is ALWAYS something getting in the way of using their resources for the greater good of the community. It's such a strange coincidence, but there is always one thing that just makes the plan unworkable for them where it would work for every other community.

PP has been so polite to Nottingham parent in explaining that other schools also deal with traffic issues and manage to get through it, and Notting parent has been nothing but snotty and rude to them. What kind of discourse is this, Nottingham parent? What will it take for you to understand that other APS school communities go through this stuff all the time, and manage to get through it, without being jerks to everyone around them. The real solution here is not to stand there and argumentatively block the move, but to work towards making it as safe as possible for everyone -- but of course you won't be doing that if your safety concerns are really just a pretext for not wanting your local school to be used in this way.

If you woke up one morning and found out the elementary school within a few blocks of your house would close in a few years, wouldn’t you be upset and try everything you could to advocate for a different plan?

NP. Uh, no? I just sat and thought about this for a few minutes. Would I be happy about it? No, of course not. Nobody likes change. But would I understand this is how things go and my kids will be completely fine? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because APS had a history of mistakes and overlooking issues. Some of us don’t think it’s in the best interest of any kids to put a 100 % drop off school in an area where three adults have recently been killed by cars.

I’m a Nott parent. I know these streets. We are incredibly lucky that no children have been killed. Some of us would like to keep it that way. Others are flippantly dismissive and just plain insensitive.

It seems odd to me that Nottingham parents are trying to portray Little Falls as a death trap while also demanding that their children get to keep attending the school. So only current families know how to navigate the traffic issues?

Not odd at all. Nottingham is known for its walkability. Current families don't ALL drive to the school, in fact very few do at all. You realize that will be the scenario right? All busses and car riders. That changes the dynamic of the neighborhood for several hours in the morning and evening (extended day). I am not a Nottingham parent but I do live in the neighborhood. Its also been proven that drivers use less caution when not in their own neighborhood and when in a hurry (drop offs).

You are twisting yourself into a pretzel here. The tragic pedestrian deaths have occurred with current traffic levels. It seems to be that a responsible, concerned parent would be advocating for the closure of Nottingham on that basis alone.

Dramatic much? No, we advocated for traffic reduction and stop signs. It's not reasonable to close a school. It is reasonable to enforce traffic safety protocols.

It’s not drama to point out how hypocritical the Nottingham parents are. If the traffic is so dangerous, why do you want your children to keep attending school there? Ohhhhh, right, that’s not what it is about at all.

This is really not a logical argument. You're talking about taking the current NES walkers, having them walk (in and around that neighborhood) to other schools, and then adding in 4-5x the number of buses that currently go to the school, plus additional cars doing drop-off and pick-up both for extended day (~7am, ~6pm) and for school hours (~9am, ~4pm). This is a material change in the traffic profile, patterns, and volume around the school. So yes, it's currently dangerous - which the neighborhood and school community dislike and have been trying to address for years with the county, with limited success as noted upthread. But this makes the situation worse - including for the students and parents being moved here as part of the swing space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord these Nottingham parents, I can't even. There is ALWAYS something getting in the way of using their resources for the greater good of the community. It's such a strange coincidence, but there is always one thing that just makes the plan unworkable for them where it would work for every other community.

PP has been so polite to Nottingham parent in explaining that other schools also deal with traffic issues and manage to get through it, and Notting parent has been nothing but snotty and rude to them. What kind of discourse is this, Nottingham parent? What will it take for you to understand that other APS school communities go through this stuff all the time, and manage to get through it, without being jerks to everyone around them. The real solution here is not to stand there and argumentatively block the move, but to work towards making it as safe as possible for everyone -- but of course you won't be doing that if your safety concerns are really just a pretext for not wanting your local school to be used in this way.

If you woke up one morning and found out the elementary school within a few blocks of your house would close in a few years, wouldn’t you be upset and try everything you could to advocate for a different plan?

NP. Uh, no? I just sat and thought about this for a few minutes. Would I be happy about it? No, of course not. Nobody likes change. But would I understand this is how things go and my kids will be completely fine? Yes.

+1

We've been moved from one middle school to another and then back again a couple years later. It's not ideal but it's fine.

Agree that traffic problems are everywhere. You will never get a neighborhood welcoming more traffic, and many streets are dangerous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First they overcrowded Glebe
And I did not speak out
Because I didn't have kids there and so eff that.
Then they repurposed McKinley
And I did not speak out
and in fact was a little grateful over it because better them than us.
Then they came for Nottingham
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
and in fact for some reason people don't seem to like me that much and they're starting to get on my nerves

It's funny because if Nottingham hadn't been so vocal about turning away kids from other schools before because they were oh so crowded, they might not be underenrolled now. But noooooo, like always the Nottingham moms and dads were all: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!

Everyone else is really done with Nottingham's Thunderdome antics. Reading some of the terrible "I'm a lawyer but have no experience with this kind of law" takes posted here is hysterical -- you guys are too much. Look at this this way, Nottingham: This is actually an opportunity for you, since your school isn't being scrapped, it's being given an extension. If enrollment numbers in your area go back up after covid, like you have been saying they will when folks return from private, then Nottingham will turn back into a local elementary in several years after the renovations. If not, and if you've been wrong about the numbers, then let's see what this experiment shows re whether the school is really needed as a local elementary.

Nottingham was overcrowded. Significantly so, and for some time. So overcrowded that we spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new elementary schools nearby. Now, less than a decade later, we are shutting down Nottingham because oops, we didn’t need that space after all.

Tell me- did the school board screw up then, or is it screwing up now? Because no rational district spends hundreds of millions of dollars to create new schools that aren’t needed. Have things changed so permanently and remarkably after COVID that we need to completely change course? If so, why aren’t we looking at that?

I don’t trust their projection data. Their confidence in it, despite being repeatedly wrong and it having the same sort of limitations that caused them to be caught flat footed in the 2010s, is very concerning.

I can see few people share this concern when it comes to sticking it to the Nottingham community. I don’t like being surrounded by idiots, and for that reason I’m looking toward the exits. Enjoy the bond service on those hundred million dollar schools.

I think it’s a little unfair to blame the school board for building a new school when it was clearly needed. (Although I do blame them for building clearly over the top fancy ones). No one could have predicted the pandemic/the resulting learning loss and exodus to private. The fact now is that APS doesn’t need an elementary school there now. If in 10 years an elementary school is needed, then great, the building is there and APS can reopen it.

Although, my prediction is that the demographics in that neighborhood have permanently changed. No 2 government employees can buy a house there like they could 20-30 years ago. And when people buy 2.5 to 3 million houses, they tend to go private.

It’s insane that APS is just completely ignoring the private school exodus in the context of these seating questions. Why? Why does no one look at it? Why aren’t we spending some of this time money and energy on really understanding the numbers instead of relying on the incompetent APS staff who have a demonstrable record of absolutely blowing there calls?

I’m not even sure what you are asking for. You want to go around a $$$ neighborhood and ask all the big law partners why they aren’t using public schools? I mean, I can already tell you it’s prestige and getting their children a leg up in the world. And APS has enough problems educating the children they do have (and the many, many who were left behind during Covid) without begging some to come back.

I don’t think that’s the only demographic leaving for private post-Covid. There are lots of families enrolled in Catholic school and other placements that are less expensive than the so-called “prestige schools” but still solid schools where kids are getting educated. It’s a larger group of parents leaving for private. The public schools (not just APS) failed a lot of students during Covid. I’m not here to litigate the wisdom of the decisions that were made. But we can’t ignore that many students were not well-served. And we are still feeling the downstream consequences. It’s not just law partners looking for prestige. It’s a lot of people trying to do right by their kids in the best way they know how.

How is APS realistically supposed to figure out how many of these kids are coming back to APS, or how many of the kids turning school age will attend APS vs private? Honestly curious how they can make these projections. It seems obvious there would be a ton of room for error, with unforeseen economic conditions and all the other factors that go into where people live/move and send their kids to school. Which means keeping Nottingham as a swing space in case of future growth makes good sense, rather than closing it permanently and converting it to a senior center or something.

Doesn't really seem fair for the three of the richest schools in the north to all keep operating at much lower capacity than the Title 1 schools in the south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Duran sticking it to a wealthier part of North Arlington just because he thinks he can. Congratulations, you got what you paid for - a stupid class warrior who thinks equity means driving people of greater means out of APS.

Cool your jets on your anti-Duran narrative, APE. APS has closed and moved schools before. Former McKinley families are doing just fine at their new north Arlington schools.

The fact is that the spaces available are in the north. And the places that need a full renovation next are either in the north or could be relocated there like MPSA.

APE's previous antics are coming back to bite them. They made all the teachers leave, then figured they'd go private for a few years while all that gets sorted out, and now they are apoplectic that their precious neighborhood school won't be there when they decide to come back. I remember seeing the Miranda van outside of Nottingham when I walked my kids to school during the pandemic. We all know where APE's base is.

The last thing APS boundRy wars needs is for APE to get involved. They are already posting about it on their Facebook page. Sounds like some of them are posting here too when they complain about equity and Duran. Make the popcorn.

Has APE SB candidate Miranda publicly commented on this proposal yet? I think she had a lot of supporters at Nottingham so where does she stand on this issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Duran sticking it to a wealthier part of North Arlington just because he thinks he can. Congratulations, you got what you paid for - a stupid class warrior who thinks equity means driving people of greater means out of APS.

Cool your jets on your anti-Duran narrative, APE. APS has closed and moved schools before. Former McKinley families are doing just fine at their new north Arlington schools.

The fact is that the spaces available are in the north. And the places that need a full renovation next are either in the north or could be relocated there like MPSA.

APE's previous antics are coming back to bite them. They made all the teachers leave, then figured they'd go private for a few years while all that gets sorted out, and now they are apoplectic that their precious neighborhood school won't be there when they decide to come back. I remember seeing the Miranda van outside of Nottingham when I walked my kids to school during the pandemic. We all know where APE's base is.

The last thing APS boundRy wars needs is for APE to get involved. They are already posting about it on their Facebook page. Sounds like some of them are posting here too when they complain about equity and Duran. Make the popcorn.

Has APE SB candidate Miranda publicly commented on this proposal yet? I think she had a lot of supporters at Nottingham so where does she stand on this issue?

I don’t know but it’s telling that APE has already commented publicly on this move in the arlnow story but nothing about the other proposed moves. They don’t care much when it’s not their kids but we already knew that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Duran sticking it to a wealthier part of North Arlington just because he thinks he can. Congratulations, you got what you paid for - a stupid class warrior who thinks equity means driving people of greater means out of APS.

Cool your jets on your anti-Duran narrative, APE. APS has closed and moved schools before. Former McKinley families are doing just fine at their new north Arlington schools.

The fact is that the spaces available are in the north. And the places that need a full renovation next are either in the north or could be relocated there like MPSA.

APE's previous antics are coming back to bite them. They made all the teachers leave, then figured they'd go private for a few years while all that gets sorted out, and now they are apoplectic that their precious neighborhood school won't be there when they decide to come back. I remember seeing the Miranda van outside of Nottingham when I walked my kids to school during the pandemic. We all know where APE's base is.

The last thing APS boundRy wars needs is for APE to get involved. They are already posting about it on their Facebook page. Sounds like some of them are posting here too when they complain about equity and Duran. Make the popcorn.

Has APE SB candidate Miranda publicly commented on this proposal yet? I think she had a lot of supporters at Nottingham so where does she stand on this issue?

I don’t know but it’s telling that APE has already commented publicly on this move in the arlnow story but nothing about the other proposed moves. They don’t care much when it’s not their kids but we already knew that.

+100

[Anonymous]

Surely the real solution here is actually to keep Nottingham as a local school but DECREASE the number of kids who are going there to more closely reflect the quiet street expectations of the people who purchased their house in 22207?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First they overcrowded Glebe
And I did not speak out
Because I didn't have kids there and so eff that.
Then they repurposed McKinley
And I did not speak out
and in fact was a little grateful over it because better them than us.
Then they came for Nottingham
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
and in fact for some reason people don't seem to like me that much and they're starting to get on my nerves

It's funny because if Nottingham hadn't been so vocal about turning away kids from other schools before because they were oh so crowded, they might not be underenrolled now. But noooooo, like always the Nottingham moms and dads were all: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!

Everyone else is really done with Nottingham's Thunderdome antics. Reading some of the terrible "I'm a lawyer but have no experience with this kind of law" takes posted here is hysterical -- you guys are too much. Look at this this way, Nottingham: This is actually an opportunity for you, since your school isn't being scrapped, it's being given an extension. If enrollment numbers in your area go back up after covid, like you have been saying they will when folks return from private, then Nottingham will turn back into a local elementary in several years after the renovations. If not, and if you've been wrong about the numbers, then let's see what this experiment shows re whether the school is really needed as a local elementary.

Nottingham was overcrowded. Significantly so, and for some time. So overcrowded that we spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new elementary schools nearby. Now, less than a decade later, we are shutting down Nottingham because oops, we didn’t need that space after all.

Tell me- did the school board screw up then, or is it screwing up now? Because no rational district spends hundreds of millions of dollars to create new schools that aren’t needed. Have things changed so permanently and remarkably after COVID that we need to completely change course? If so, why aren’t we looking at that?

I don’t trust their projection data. Their confidence in it, despite being repeatedly wrong and it having the same sort of limitations that caused them to be caught flat footed in the 2010s, is very concerning.

I can see few people share this concern when it comes to sticking it to the Nottingham community. I don’t like being surrounded by idiots, and for that reason I’m looking toward the exits. Enjoy the bond service on those hundred million dollar schools.

I think it’s a little unfair to blame the school board for building a new school when it was clearly needed. (Although I do blame them for building clearly over the top fancy ones). No one could have predicted the pandemic/the resulting learning loss and exodus to private. The fact now is that APS doesn’t need an elementary school there now. If in 10 years an elementary school is needed, then great, the building is there and APS can reopen it.

Although, my prediction is that the demographics in that neighborhood have permanently changed. No 2 government employees can buy a house there like they could 20-30 years ago. And when people buy 2.5 to 3 million houses, they tend to go private.

It’s insane that APS is just completely ignoring the private school exodus in the context of these seating questions. Why? Why does no one look at it? Why aren’t we spending some of this time money and energy on really understanding the numbers instead of relying on the incompetent APS staff who have a demonstrable record of absolutely blowing there calls?

I’m not even sure what you are asking for. You want to go around a $$$ neighborhood and ask all the big law partners why they aren’t using public schools? I mean, I can already tell you it’s prestige and getting their children a leg up in the world. And APS has enough problems educating the children they do have (and the many, many who were left behind during Covid) without begging some to come back.

I don’t think that’s the only demographic leaving for private post-Covid. There are lots of families enrolled in Catholic school and other placements that are less expensive than the so-called “prestige schools” but still solid schools where kids are getting educated. It’s a larger group of parents leaving for private. The public schools (not just APS) failed a lot of students during Covid. I’m not here to litigate the wisdom of the decisions that were made. But we can’t ignore that many students were not well-served. And we are still feeling the downstream consequences. It’s not just law partners looking for prestige. It’s a lot of people trying to do right by their kids in the best way they know how.

How is APS realistically supposed to figure out how many of these kids are coming back to APS, or how many of the kids turning school age will attend APS vs private? Honestly curious how they can make these projections. It seems obvious there would be a ton of room for error, with unforeseen economic conditions and all the other factors that go into where people live/move and send their kids to school. Which means keeping Nottingham as a swing space in case of future growth makes good sense, rather than closing it permanently and converting it to a senior center or something.

Doesn't really seem fair for the three of the richest schools in the north to all keep operating at much lower capacity than the Title 1 schools in the south.

I didn’t say Nottingham should stay open or that anyone should do a survey. I gave my opinion that the private school demographic is changing. It’s not just “law partners looking for prestige.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like Duran sticking it to a wealthier part of North Arlington just because he thinks he can. Congratulations, you got what you paid for - a stupid class warrior who thinks equity means driving people of greater means out of APS.

Cool your jets on your anti-Duran narrative, APE. APS has closed and moved schools before. Former McKinley families are doing just fine at their new north Arlington schools.

The fact is that the spaces available are in the north. And the places that need a full renovation next are either in the north or could be relocated there like MPSA.

APE's previous antics are coming back to bite them. They made all the teachers leave, then figured they'd go private for a few years while all that gets sorted out, and now they are apoplectic that their precious neighborhood school won't be there when they decide to come back. I remember seeing the Miranda van outside of Nottingham when I walked my kids to school during the pandemic. We all know where APE's base is.

The last thing APS boundRy wars needs is for APE to get involved. They are already posting about it on their Facebook page. Sounds like some of them are posting here too when they complain about equity and Duran. Make the popcorn.

Has APE SB candidate Miranda publicly commented on this proposal yet? I think she had a lot of supporters at Nottingham so where does she stand on this issue?

I don’t know but it’s telling that APE has already commented publicly on this move in the arlnow story but nothing about the other proposed moves. They don’t care much when it’s not their kids but we already knew that.

link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First they overcrowded Glebe
And I did not speak out
Because I didn't have kids there and so eff that.
Then they repurposed McKinley
And I did not speak out
and in fact was a little grateful over it because better them than us.
Then they came for Nottingham
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
and in fact for some reason people don't seem to like me that much and they're starting to get on my nerves

It's funny because if Nottingham hadn't been so vocal about turning away kids from other schools before because they were oh so crowded, they might not be underenrolled now. But noooooo, like always the Nottingham moms and dads were all: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!

Everyone else is really done with Nottingham's Thunderdome antics. Reading some of the terrible "I'm a lawyer but have no experience with this kind of law" takes posted here is hysterical -- you guys are too much. Look at this this way, Nottingham: This is actually an opportunity for you, since your school isn't being scrapped, it's being given an extension. If enrollment numbers in your area go back up after covid, like you have been saying they will when folks return from private, then Nottingham will turn back into a local elementary in several years after the renovations. If not, and if you've been wrong about the numbers, then let's see what this experiment shows re whether the school is really needed as a local elementary.

Nottingham was overcrowded. Significantly so, and for some time. So overcrowded that we spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new elementary schools nearby. Now, less than a decade later, we are shutting down Nottingham because oops, we didn’t need that space after all.

Tell me- did the school board screw up then, or is it screwing up now? Because no rational district spends hundreds of millions of dollars to create new schools that aren’t needed. Have things changed so permanently and remarkably after COVID that we need to completely change course? If so, why aren’t we looking at that?

I don’t trust their projection data. Their confidence in it, despite being repeatedly wrong and it having the same sort of limitations that caused them to be caught flat footed in the 2010s, is very concerning.

I can see few people share this concern when it comes to sticking it to the Nottingham community. I don’t like being surrounded by idiots, and for that reason I’m looking toward the exits. Enjoy the bond service on those hundred million dollar schools.

I think it’s a little unfair to blame the school board for building a new school when it was clearly needed. (Although I do blame them for building clearly over the top fancy ones). No one could have predicted the pandemic/the resulting learning loss and exodus to private. The fact now is that APS doesn’t need an elementary school there now. If in 10 years an elementary school is needed, then great, the building is there and APS can reopen it.

Although, my prediction is that the demographics in that neighborhood have permanently changed. No 2 government employees can buy a house there like they could 20-30 years ago. And when people buy 2.5 to 3 million houses, they tend to go private.

It’s insane that APS is just completely ignoring the private school exodus in the context of these seating questions. Why? Why does no one look at it? Why aren’t we spending some of this time money and energy on really understanding the numbers instead of relying on the incompetent APS staff who have a demonstrable record of absolutely blowing there calls?

I’m not even sure what you are asking for. You want to go around a $$$ neighborhood and ask all the big law partners why they aren’t using public schools? I mean, I can already tell you it’s prestige and getting their children a leg up in the world. And APS has enough problems educating the children they do have (and the many, many who were left behind during Covid) without begging some to come back.

I don’t think that’s the only demographic leaving for private post-Covid. There are lots of families enrolled in Catholic school and other placements that are less expensive than the so-called “prestige schools” but still solid schools where kids are getting educated. It’s a larger group of parents leaving for private. The public schools (not just APS) failed a lot of students during Covid. I’m not here to litigate the wisdom of the decisions that were made. But we can’t ignore that many students were not well-served. And we are still feeling the downstream consequences. It’s not just law partners looking for prestige. It’s a lot of people trying to do right by their kids in the best way they know how.

How is APS realistically supposed to figure out how many of these kids are coming back to APS, or how many of the kids turning school age will attend APS vs private? Honestly curious how they can make these projections. It seems obvious there would be a ton of room for error, with unforeseen economic conditions and all the other factors that go into where people live/move and send their kids to school. Which means keeping Nottingham as a swing space in case of future growth makes good sense, rather than closing it permanently and converting it to a senior center or something.

Doesn't really seem fair for the three of the richest schools in the north to all keep operating at much lower capacity than the Title 1 schools in the south.

I didn’t say Nottingham should stay open or that anyone should do a survey. I gave my opinion that the private school demographic is changing. It’s not just “law partners looking for prestige.”

Others were saying this move should be delayed pending deeper analysis of demographic trends and an estimation of how many would stay/go private. But it seems difficult to do this kind of study with any fidelity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK. Just to recap the argument. There have been several traffic fatalities along Yorktown Boulevard. As a consequence, Nottingham can’t ever be used for any purpose other than exactly how it’s being used right now. Neighborhood school with only 2 classes in at least 2 grades. There have been similar traffic fatalities at the Fleet/TJ site (also very close to the career center that brings people from all over the county all day long), but that’s different because their houses cost less. Did I get it right?

Well, you could start by getting the name of the road right. Just one clue that you have no idea what you're talking about. Clearly.

I don't understand why PP is comparing this to Fleet/TJ. Unless there's a proposal to use Fleet for swing space, which there is not.

The point would be that APS added an entire new school of 650 kids to a site that already had a 1000+ kid school on a street with similar pedestrian safety issues. This has also created a lot of traffic and hassle for the neighborhood. So, I think one could argue that was worse from a traffic perspective.

Other parallel is that the neighborhood hate to fight hard to get a stop sign at a known dangerous intersection. We were really lucky to get it before someone got killed, but there were a lot of close calls over the years until it finally happened, really because a group of moms took it upon themselves to make it happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First they overcrowded Glebe
And I did not speak out
Because I didn't have kids there and so eff that.
Then they repurposed McKinley
And I did not speak out
and in fact was a little grateful over it because better them than us.
Then they came for Nottingham
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
and in fact for some reason people don't seem to like me that much and they're starting to get on my nerves

It's funny because if Nottingham hadn't been so vocal about turning away kids from other schools before because they were oh so crowded, they might not be underenrolled now. But noooooo, like always the Nottingham moms and dads were all: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!

Everyone else is really done with Nottingham's Thunderdome antics. Reading some of the terrible "I'm a lawyer but have no experience with this kind of law" takes posted here is hysterical -- you guys are too much. Look at this this way, Nottingham: This is actually an opportunity for you, since your school isn't being scrapped, it's being given an extension. If enrollment numbers in your area go back up after covid, like you have been saying they will when folks return from private, then Nottingham will turn back into a local elementary in several years after the renovations. If not, and if you've been wrong about the numbers, then let's see what this experiment shows re whether the school is really needed as a local elementary.

Nottingham was overcrowded. Significantly so, and for some time. So overcrowded that we spent hundreds of millions of dollars on new elementary schools nearby. Now, less than a decade later, we are shutting down Nottingham because oops, we didn’t need that space after all.

Tell me- did the school board screw up then, or is it screwing up now? Because no rational district spends hundreds of millions of dollars to create new schools that aren’t needed. Have things changed so permanently and remarkably after COVID that we need to completely change course? If so, why aren’t we looking at that?

I don’t trust their projection data. Their confidence in it, despite being repeatedly wrong and it having the same sort of limitations that caused them to be caught flat footed in the 2010s, is very concerning.

I can see few people share this concern when it comes to sticking it to the Nottingham community. I don’t like being surrounded by idiots, and for that reason I’m looking toward the exits. Enjoy the bond service on those hundred million dollar schools.

I think it’s a little unfair to blame the school board for building a new school when it was clearly needed. (Although I do blame them for building clearly over the top fancy ones). No one could have predicted the pandemic/the resulting learning loss and exodus to private. The fact now is that APS doesn’t need an elementary school there now. If in 10 years an elementary school is needed, then great, the building is there and APS can reopen it.

Although, my prediction is that the demographics in that neighborhood have permanently changed. No 2 government employees can buy a house there like they could 20-30 years ago. And when people buy 2.5 to 3 million houses, they tend to go private.

It’s insane that APS is just completely ignoring the private school exodus in the context of these seating questions. Why? Why does no one look at it? Why aren’t we spending some of this time money and energy on really understanding the numbers instead of relying on the incompetent APS staff who have a demonstrable record of absolutely blowing there calls?

I’m not even sure what you are asking for. You want to go around a $$$ neighborhood and ask all the big law partners why they aren’t using public schools? I mean, I can already tell you it’s prestige and getting their children a leg up in the world. And APS has enough problems educating the children they do have (and the many, many who were left behind during Covid) without begging some to come back.

I don’t think that’s the only demographic leaving for private post-Covid. There are lots of families enrolled in Catholic school and other placements that are less expensive than the so-called “prestige schools” but still solid schools where kids are getting educated. It’s a larger group of parents leaving for private. The public schools (not just APS) failed a lot of students during Covid. I’m not here to litigate the wisdom of the decisions that were made. But we can’t ignore that many students were not well-served. And we are still feeling the downstream consequences. It’s not just law partners looking for prestige. It’s a lot of people trying to do right by their kids in the best way they know how.

How is APS realistically supposed to figure out how many of these kids are coming back to APS, or how many of the kids turning school age will attend APS vs private? Honestly curious how they can make these projections. It seems obvious there would be a ton of room for error, with unforeseen economic conditions and all the other factors that go into where people live/move and send their kids to school. Which means keeping Nottingham as a swing space in case of future growth makes good sense, rather than closing it permanently and converting it to a senior center or something.

Doesn't really seem fair for the three of the richest schools in the north to all keep operating at much lower capacity than the Title 1 schools in the south.

I didn’t say Nottingham should stay open or that anyone should do a survey. I gave my opinion that the private school demographic is changing. It’s not just “law partners looking for prestige.”

Others were saying this move should be delayed pending deeper analysis of demographic trends and an estimation of how many would stay/go private. But it seems difficult to do this kind of study with any fidelity.

It’s difficult, but we can do more than just guess based on how many women birthed children at VHC. We missed big trends before - namely that people did not want to move out to FFX to raise their kids - and it took decades to catch up. I have a feeling, just based on the dozens of little kids I’ve seen move in the last 3 years alone and the boomers I see moving out - that APS is setting itself up to miss big again.

By the time they figure it out Discovery and Tuckahoe are packed to the gills and they can’t do anything about it without spending a hundred million dollars. Kids suffer in the meantime.

Shouldn’t we at least try to look at the issue instead of pretending an uneducated guess is the best we can do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never said they weren't real. Mainly I am saying that just because a project will bring traffic doesn't mean it can't happen. Every single APS project has traffic implications. Nottingham is not unique in this regard. And yes, there is a terrible history there I was not specifically aware of, but if you look at the map I shared, this part of Arlington does not have the most safety concerns of anywhere in Arlington. Look at Columbia Pike for example.

I also think YOU are not aware of the issues other communities deal with. Are you aware of the specific traffic concerns the communities south of Rt 50 deal with? That doesn't stop new schools from being built here. We've also had fatalities. It's also awful.

Do you want to stop every APS project in Arlington? I am just saying, it does not make sense to not consider this just because of traffic issues. We have to manage and deal with the traffic issues as best we can. And that's the truth.

You lost all credibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK. Just to recap the argument. There have been several traffic fatalities along Yorktown Boulevard. As a consequence, Nottingham can’t ever be used for any purpose other than exactly how it’s being used right now. Neighborhood school with only 2 classes in at least 2 grades. There have been similar traffic fatalities at the Fleet/TJ site (also very close to the career center that brings people from all over the county all day long), but that’s different because their houses cost less. Did I get it right?

Maybe it's just better to shut down Nottingham altogether and build another school. In the meantime, the Nottingham kids will be bused to nearby schools....like they suggest the kids in schools being renovated do.
Solved. No more traffic concerns related to the school.