APS DHMS walk zone nuclear option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

You're 100% wrong and I love fighting people like you. Options are not second class schools. Your neighborhood whatever is not better. It's people like you who drive me - I'm not APS, I'm a parent and 23-year homeowner- to get deeply involved in many County and APS task forces so I can make sure to push back on wasteful elitism. I'm delighted we've made as much progress but we have a lot more to go, and we will. I'm not looking for the death of neighborhoods, not even close. Just parity, because in an incredibly small county like Arlington with all the competing demands for spending, prioritizing neighborhoods as sinequa non is a recipe for. Waste and poor governance. See you in the committees, not

Ever notice it's the rich whites in N. Arlington who complain about option schools? I guess they want all the resources for their lily white neighborhood schools way up north.

Ever notice it’s the parents down in S Arlington fighting for option schools because they want to escape the neighborhood schools they bought into. What does it say that you’re willing to buy a home somewhere but don’t actually want your kid to go to school with their neighbors?

And a lot of them are wealthy parents who wanted their dollar to stretch further for a bigger/newer house in the south part of the county (and I’m sure many of them would call my N Arlington house a shack). So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near.

At least we're willing to live near them. Next door to them, even. Interact with them and play on rec teams with them, too.
Ever think some of the parents are just looking for higher academic expectations and more opportunities - just like you were when you bought your north Arlington shack? Ever consider that a lot of south Arlington parents couldn't afford even the shack you live in in north Arlington because it's north of 50? Ever notice that a lot of south Arlington houses are probably just like your shack or worse?

The north Arlington attitude toward MC/UMC south Arlington is hypocritical. It's ok for you to segregate your kids because you chose to live in a segregated part of the County; but SA parents are racist, or greedy "want it alls," or hypocritical SJWs, because they only live in diverse neighborhoods and exercise the same option anyone anywhere in Arlington has to send their kid to an option program. It's fine for you to purposely live in NA to avoid the SA schools; but not ok for SA to avoid those same neighborhood schools. It's "right" for you to fight and defend neighborhood schools and oppose option programs even though you know the neighborhood schools aren't equal; but you "bought" yours, so that's ok - rather than fighting for and supporting a system that can result in more equal schools across the district, like a district-wide ranked-choice admissions system or even merely "weird" boundaries that at least help balance things out a little.

--SA Title I neighborhood schools K-12 parent.

Funny you and calling NA parents hypocritical when all I was doing was pointing out that you’re trying to do the same thing we’ve done for our kids by prioritizing their academic opportunities. You admit in your post that you’re doing the each same thing NA parents have done. Your motivations are the exact same and yet you judge the parents up here for advocating for our own kids’ educational experiences. So who is the hypocrite? Can you at least admit we’re all motivated by the same things for our kids without trying to claim such moral superiority because you allow your kids to play rec soccer with other kids you wouldn’t want them to sit next to in school. You are the same as the NA parents whether you want to admit it or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

You're 100% wrong and I love fighting people like you. Options are not second class schools. Your neighborhood whatever is not better. It's people like you who drive me - I'm not APS, I'm a parent and 23-year homeowner- to get deeply involved in many County and APS task forces so I can make sure to push back on wasteful elitism. I'm delighted we've made as much progress but we have a lot more to go, and we will. I'm not looking for the death of neighborhoods, not even close. Just parity, because in an incredibly small county like Arlington with all the competing demands for spending, prioritizing neighborhoods as sinequa non is a recipe for. Waste and poor governance. See you in the committees, not

Ever notice it's the rich whites in N. Arlington who complain about option schools? I guess they want all the resources for their lily white neighborhood schools way up north.

Ever notice it’s the parents down in S Arlington fighting for option schools because they want to escape the neighborhood schools they bought into. What does it say that you’re willing to buy a home somewhere but don’t actually want your kid to go to school with their neighbors?

And a lot of them are wealthy parents who wanted their dollar to stretch further for a bigger/newer house in the south part of the county (and I’m sure many of them would call my N Arlington house a shack). So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near.

Here's the rich white N Arlington parent viewpoint that I just spoke of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

You're 100% wrong and I love fighting people like you. Options are not second class schools. Your neighborhood whatever is not better. It's people like you who drive me - I'm not APS, I'm a parent and 23-year homeowner- to get deeply involved in many County and APS task forces so I can make sure to push back on wasteful elitism. I'm delighted we've made as much progress but we have a lot more to go, and we will. I'm not looking for the death of neighborhoods, not even close. Just parity, because in an incredibly small county like Arlington with all the competing demands for spending, prioritizing neighborhoods as sinequa non is a recipe for. Waste and poor governance. See you in the committees, not

Ever notice it's the rich whites in N. Arlington who complain about option schools? I guess they want all the resources for their lily white neighborhood schools way up north.

Ever notice it’s the parents down in S Arlington fighting for option schools because they want to escape the neighborhood schools they bought into. What does it say that you’re willing to buy a home somewhere but don’t actually want your kid to go to school with their neighbors?

And a lot of them are wealthy parents who wanted their dollar to stretch further for a bigger/newer house in the south part of the county (and I’m sure many of them would call my N Arlington house a shack). So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near.

At least we're willing to live near them. Next door to them, even. Interact with them and play on rec teams with them, too.
Ever think some of the parents are just looking for higher academic expectations and more opportunities - just like you were when you bought your north Arlington shack? Ever consider that a lot of south Arlington parents couldn't afford even the shack you live in in north Arlington because it's north of 50? Ever notice that a lot of south Arlington houses are probably just like your shack or worse?

The north Arlington attitude toward MC/UMC south Arlington is hypocritical. It's ok for you to segregate your kids because you chose to live in a segregated part of the County; but SA parents are racist, or greedy "want it alls," or hypocritical SJWs, because they only live in diverse neighborhoods and exercise the same option anyone anywhere in Arlington has to send their kid to an option program. It's fine for you to purposely live in NA to avoid the SA schools; but not ok for SA to avoid those same neighborhood schools. It's "right" for you to fight and defend neighborhood schools and oppose option programs even though you know the neighborhood schools aren't equal; but you "bought" yours, so that's ok - rather than fighting for and supporting a system that can result in more equal schools across the district, like a district-wide ranked-choice admissions system or even merely "weird" boundaries that at least help balance things out a little.

--SA Title I neighborhood schools K-12 parent.

Funny you and calling NA parents hypocritical when all I was doing was pointing out that you’re trying to do the same thing we’ve done for our kids by prioritizing their academic opportunities. You admit in your post that you’re doing the each same thing NA parents have done. Your motivations are the exact same and yet you judge the parents up here for advocating for our own kids’ educational experiences. So who is the hypocrite? Can you at least admit we’re all motivated by the same things for our kids without trying to claim such moral superiority because you allow your kids to play rec soccer with other kids you wouldn’t want them to sit next to in school. You are the same as the NA parents whether you want to admit it or not.

Clearly you did not note how I signed my comment. My kids attend/ed all of their Title 1 neighborhood SA schools.
And,
"So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near" goes beyond "pointing out that you're trying to do the same thing we've done for our kids by prioritizing their academic opportunities." More pointedly, "...expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near" is blatantly hypocritical as you all advocate for your convenience, not for best academic outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

You're 100% wrong and I love fighting people like you. Options are not second class schools. Your neighborhood whatever is not better. It's people like you who drive me - I'm not APS, I'm a parent and 23-year homeowner- to get deeply involved in many County and APS task forces so I can make sure to push back on wasteful elitism. I'm delighted we've made as much progress but we have a lot more to go, and we will. I'm not looking for the death of neighborhoods, not even close. Just parity, because in an incredibly small county like Arlington with all the competing demands for spending, prioritizing neighborhoods as sinequa non is a recipe for. Waste and poor governance. See you in the committees, not

Ever notice it's the rich whites in N. Arlington who complain about option schools? I guess they want all the resources for their lily white neighborhood schools way up north.

Ever notice it’s the parents down in S Arlington fighting for option schools because they want to escape the neighborhood schools they bought into. What does it say that you’re willing to buy a home somewhere but don’t actually want your kid to go to school with their neighbors?

And a lot of them are wealthy parents who wanted their dollar to stretch further for a bigger/newer house in the south part of the county (and I’m sure many of them would call my N Arlington house a shack). So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near.

Here's the rich white N Arlington parent viewpoint that I just spoke of.

Somehow I'm sensing that their "shack" is a lovely average home.

[Anonymous]

I'm a NA parent with one kid in immersion and another at their neighborhood school. This whole argument is silly. APS has said that it needs to move the Immersion MS program from Gunston because of overcrowding. It isn't being moved because of a desire from Immersion parents, but because of the needs of a neighborhood school.

Immersion should be moved somewhere centrally located to the middle of the county because it's a county-wide program. I don't really care beyond that. Kenmore, Swanson and TJ all seem reasonable. And it's not favoring a choice school to consider proximity and transportation in deciding where to locate the program, as that's a factor for all boundary decisions. This is not some plot to disadvantage Taylor parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

You're 100% wrong and I love fighting people like you. Options are not second class schools. Your neighborhood whatever is not better. It's people like you who drive me - I'm not APS, I'm a parent and 23-year homeowner- to get deeply involved in many County and APS task forces so I can make sure to push back on wasteful elitism. I'm delighted we've made as much progress but we have a lot more to go, and we will. I'm not looking for the death of neighborhoods, not even close. Just parity, because in an incredibly small county like Arlington with all the competing demands for spending, prioritizing neighborhoods as sinequa non is a recipe for. Waste and poor governance. See you in the committees, not

Ever notice it's the rich whites in N. Arlington who complain about option schools? I guess they want all the resources for their lily white neighborhood schools way up north.

Ever notice it’s the parents down in S Arlington fighting for option schools because they want to escape the neighborhood schools they bought into. What does it say that you’re willing to buy a home somewhere but don’t actually want your kid to go to school with their neighbors?

And a lot of them are wealthy parents who wanted their dollar to stretch further for a bigger/newer house in the south part of the county (and I’m sure many of them would call my N Arlington house a shack). So because they aren’t happy with the schools where they bought they want to option their kids to other schools and expect the rest of our kids to be inconvenienced so their kids don’t have to go to school amongst the people they live near.

At least we're willing to live near them. Next door to them, even. Interact with them and play on rec teams with them, too.
Ever think some of the parents are just looking for higher academic expectations and more opportunities - just like you were when you bought your north Arlington shack? Ever consider that a lot of south Arlington parents couldn't afford even the shack you live in in north Arlington because it's north of 50? Ever notice that a lot of south Arlington houses are probably just like your shack or worse?

The north Arlington attitude toward MC/UMC south Arlington is hypocritical. It's ok for you to segregate your kids because you chose to live in a segregated part of the County; but SA parents are racist, or greedy "want it alls," or hypocritical SJWs, because they only live in diverse neighborhoods and exercise the same option anyone anywhere in Arlington has to send their kid to an option program. It's fine for you to purposely live in NA to avoid the SA schools; but not ok for SA to avoid those same neighborhood schools. It's "right" for you to fight and defend neighborhood schools and oppose option programs even though you know the neighborhood schools aren't equal; but you "bought" yours, so that's ok - rather than fighting for and supporting a system that can result in more equal schools across the district, like a district-wide ranked-choice admissions system or even merely "weird" boundaries that at least help balance things out a little.

--SA Title I neighborhood schools K-12 parent.

Funny you and calling NA parents hypocritical when all I was doing was pointing out that you’re trying to do the same thing we’ve done for our kids by prioritizing their academic opportunities. You admit in your post that you’re doing the each same thing NA parents have done. Your motivations are the exact same and yet you judge the parents up here for advocating for our own kids’ educational experiences. So who is the hypocrite? Can you at least admit we’re all motivated by the same things for our kids without trying to claim such moral superiority because you allow your kids to play rec soccer with other kids you wouldn’t want them to sit next to in school. You are the same as the NA parents whether you want to admit it or not.

Not the immediate PP but I am the PP who first observed that a certain subset of very privileged rich NA parents in the most segregated (read lily white) NA schools are the ones who seem to have problems with choice schools. For the record, I myself am in NA and my kids would go to one of these lily white NA schools. Instead we opted for a more balanced and more diverse choice school and we're very happy with that choice.

But this attitude is what I see from those around me. It's opportunity hoarding at its very worst. It's hidden in terms like "walkability" or "educational excellence" or even "learning loss." Sometimes it's a little more blatant in opposing equity initiatives. Either way, it is definitely there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

Or we could treat all students equally.

Any student that is in immersion has a neighborhood school. That’s being treated equally. The option school is the cherry on top so they can put up with some inconvenience if it’s important to them.

Look no one normal is going to buy into this way of thinking. The school system should not be sticking option schools wherever with no regard to the needs of their populations or their long-term sustainability. It is normal for public school districts to have these programs. Move on.

On the contrary, I think most “normal” people think it’s asinine to bus neighborhood students all over the place to fit some self interested visioning for an option program.

Except this isn't what's being proposed. With the exception of choice schools, kids are being bused to schools located near them. They aren't being bused "all over the place." Students in the Taylor neighborhood traditionally attended Williamsburg. It's just not that far, even if a bit farther than the absolute closest option.

This. There have always been students who can walk to one school and get bused to another. It's the nature of a small and dense County with schools build in legacy locations and new schools built where land is available. Sure, it's maybe disappointing. My student would have been able to walk to Swanson and now will likely bus to Williamsburg. Gee, too bad. That's all the energy I'm giving it. There are bigger issues going on and it's necessary for the greater good.

+1 thank you for being such a reasonable human! That is the right level of energy in my opinion. You can be like dang, I would have preferred it the other way and then let it go. it's a good lesson for your kid that sometimes things are done for the greater good and that is worthy

It’s dumb to pretend they couldn’t have middle schools that prioritized walkability.

If HBW was bigger that would have been the first step to reduce overcrowding
Second, put options schools in the empty sites, rather than crowding everything in the middle.

You can’t claim “sorry it’s a small county so you might have to walk rather than walk to a very close school” and at same time claim “sorry the county is too big to bus an option program to WMS”. Cherry picking at its worst.

Agreed. We all saw the exact same people who said that moving Key 2 miles would kill the program turn around and present a custom made version of neighborhood school boundaries with long bus rides that were fine because it's a "tiny county." Make up your minds, people.

I see your point; but I still think it's a little different to put the choice program far away and relying on hundreds of families being willing to opt out of their neighborhood school to send their kid there, especially if they have other kids not in the program. On the other hand, the neighborhood kids are all going from the same area and much more likely to have multiple siblings going to the same neighborhood school. "Convenience" has been noted as a factor in people opting into programs.

If people are opting into options for convenience, they are complete waste of money and resources. WTAF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a NA parent with one kid in immersion and another at their neighborhood school. This whole argument is silly. APS has said that it needs to move the Immersion MS program from Gunston because of overcrowding. It isn't being moved because of a desire from Immersion parents, but because of the needs of a neighborhood school.

Immersion should be moved somewhere centrally located to the middle of the county because it's a county-wide program. I don't really care beyond that. Kenmore, Swanson and TJ all seem reasonable. And it's not favoring a choice school to consider proximity and transportation in deciding where to locate the program, as that's a factor for all boundary decisions. This is not some plot to disadvantage Taylor parents.

Why does it need to be a central location? It’s not central now. It’s a small county. It’s very convenient that the one assumption you make already nixes the smallest impact decision: move the program to the school with the most excess capacity in our small county.

But you knew you were being disingenuous .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

Or we could treat all students equally.

Any student that is in immersion has a neighborhood school. That’s being treated equally. The option school is the cherry on top so they can put up with some inconvenience if it’s important to them.

Look no one normal is going to buy into this way of thinking. The school system should not be sticking option schools wherever with no regard to the needs of their populations or their long-term sustainability. It is normal for public school districts to have these programs. Move on.

On the contrary, I think most “normal” people think it’s asinine to bus neighborhood students all over the place to fit some self interested visioning for an option program.

Except this isn't what's being proposed. With the exception of choice schools, kids are being bused to schools located near them. They aren't being bused "all over the place." Students in the Taylor neighborhood traditionally attended Williamsburg. It's just not that far, even if a bit farther than the absolute closest option.

This. There have always been students who can walk to one school and get bused to another. It's the nature of a small and dense County with schools build in legacy locations and new schools built where land is available. Sure, it's maybe disappointing. My student would have been able to walk to Swanson and now will likely bus to Williamsburg. Gee, too bad. That's all the energy I'm giving it. There are bigger issues going on and it's necessary for the greater good.

+1 thank you for being such a reasonable human! That is the right level of energy in my opinion. You can be like dang, I would have preferred it the other way and then let it go. it's a good lesson for your kid that sometimes things are done for the greater good and that is worthy

It’s dumb to pretend they couldn’t have middle schools that prioritized walkability.

If HBW was bigger that would have been the first step to reduce overcrowding
Second, put options schools in the empty sites, rather than crowding everything in the middle.

You can’t claim “sorry it’s a small county so you might have to walk rather than walk to a very close school” and at same time claim “sorry the county is too big to bus an option program to WMS”. Cherry picking at its worst.

Agreed. We all saw the exact same people who said that moving Key 2 miles would kill the program turn around and present a custom made version of neighborhood school boundaries with long bus rides that were fine because it's a "tiny county." Make up your minds, people.

I see your point; but I still think it's a little different to put the choice program far away and relying on hundreds of families being willing to opt out of their neighborhood school to send their kid there, especially if they have other kids not in the program. On the other hand, the neighborhood kids are all going from the same area and much more likely to have multiple siblings going to the same neighborhood school. "Convenience" has been noted as a factor in people opting into programs.

If people are opting into options for convenience, they are complete waste of money and resources. WTAF.

It's not so much opting for a program because it's convenient, as opting for programs that are of interest/benefit the child AND are convenient. It's about making those opportunities for benefits more "convenient" to optimize the # of students who are most likely to benefit from them actually opt for them. This is mostly directly pertaining, imo, to immersion. Montessori (in APS) is generally a select group of people who are bent toward Montessori, with its pre-K program serving a need for some others and also serving as a tool in Montessori advocates' arguments for Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

Or we could treat all students equally.

Any student that is in immersion has a neighborhood school. That’s being treated equally. The option school is the cherry on top so they can put up with some inconvenience if it’s important to them.

Look no one normal is going to buy into this way of thinking. The school system should not be sticking option schools wherever with no regard to the needs of their populations or their long-term sustainability. It is normal for public school districts to have these programs. Move on.

On the contrary, I think most “normal” people think it’s asinine to bus neighborhood students all over the place to fit some self interested visioning for an option program.

Except this isn't what's being proposed. With the exception of choice schools, kids are being bused to schools located near them. They aren't being bused "all over the place." Students in the Taylor neighborhood traditionally attended Williamsburg. It's just not that far, even if a bit farther than the absolute closest option.

This. There have always been students who can walk to one school and get bused to another. It's the nature of a small and dense County with schools build in legacy locations and new schools built where land is available. Sure, it's maybe disappointing. My student would have been able to walk to Swanson and now will likely bus to Williamsburg. Gee, too bad. That's all the energy I'm giving it. There are bigger issues going on and it's necessary for the greater good.

+1 thank you for being such a reasonable human! That is the right level of energy in my opinion. You can be like dang, I would have preferred it the other way and then let it go. it's a good lesson for your kid that sometimes things are done for the greater good and that is worthy

It’s dumb to pretend they couldn’t have middle schools that prioritized walkability.

If HBW was bigger that would have been the first step to reduce overcrowding
Second, put options schools in the empty sites, rather than crowding everything in the middle.

You can’t claim “sorry it’s a small county so you might have to walk rather than walk to a very close school” and at same time claim “sorry the county is too big to bus an option program to WMS”. Cherry picking at its worst.

Agreed. We all saw the exact same people who said that moving Key 2 miles would kill the program turn around and present a custom made version of neighborhood school boundaries with long bus rides that were fine because it's a "tiny county." Make up your minds, people.

I see your point; but I still think it's a little different to put the choice program far away and relying on hundreds of families being willing to opt out of their neighborhood school to send their kid there, especially if they have other kids not in the program. On the other hand, the neighborhood kids are all going from the same area and much more likely to have multiple siblings going to the same neighborhood school. "Convenience" has been noted as a factor in people opting into programs.

If people are opting into options for convenience, they are complete waste of money and resources. WTAF.

It's not so much opting for a program because it's convenient, as opting for programs that are of interest/benefit the child AND are convenient. It's about making those opportunities for benefits more "convenient" to optimize the # of students who are most likely to benefit from them actually opt for them. This is mostly directly pertaining, imo, to immersion. Montessori (in APS) is generally a select group of people who are bent toward Montessori, with its pre-K program serving a need for some others and also serving as a tool in Montessori advocates' arguments for Montessori.

If location is a deterrent there just isn’t much support for the program. They could move HB to a barge on the Potomac and people would be buying kayaks to make sure they can get in.

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Anonymous wrote:The families being rezoned to Williamsburg would have vigorously defended their right to attend Williamsburg before Hamm opened. That's where they were zoned historically. But now it's suddenly too inconvenient? For a cohort of families with amongst the most resources in Arlington?

Instead they're now asking for a cohort of families with far fewer resources and means to trek across the county for MS? Most immersion students live in the Gunston/Wakefield boundary. That's a long way from Williamsburg. And the program collapses without the Spanish speaking classmates, so that would be the end of it. All so a few very privileged kids don't have to travel to an excellent MS that was considered their preferred option just a few years ago.

Is this actually true? I haven't seen any demographic info for MS immersion. They might not be as disadvantaged as you think considering the Claremont FARMS rate is 27.64%.

No Immersion just trots out “Spanish speaking == poor” as a club to get their way.

I can’t believe we prioritizing OPTION program commute comfort over neighborhood schools and busing costs.

+1

That is my big issue with all of the option schools. If we need to have them, fine. But they get resources/priority after neighborhood schools.

Or we could treat all students equally.

Any student that is in immersion has a neighborhood school. That’s being treated equally. The option school is the cherry on top so they can put up with some inconvenience if it’s important to them.

Look no one normal is going to buy into this way of thinking. The school system should not be sticking option schools wherever with no regard to the needs of their populations or their long-term sustainability. It is normal for public school districts to have these programs. Move on.

On the contrary, I think most “normal” people think it’s asinine to bus neighborhood students all over the place to fit some self interested visioning for an option program.

Except this isn't what's being proposed. With the exception of choice schools, kids are being bused to schools located near them. They aren't being bused "all over the place." Students in the Taylor neighborhood traditionally attended Williamsburg. It's just not that far, even if a bit farther than the absolute closest option.

This. There have always been students who can walk to one school and get bused to another. It's the nature of a small and dense County with schools build in legacy locations and new schools built where land is available. Sure, it's maybe disappointing. My student would have been able to walk to Swanson and now will likely bus to Williamsburg. Gee, too bad. That's all the energy I'm giving it. There are bigger issues going on and it's necessary for the greater good.

+1 thank you for being such a reasonable human! That is the right level of energy in my opinion. You can be like dang, I would have preferred it the other way and then let it go. it's a good lesson for your kid that sometimes things are done for the greater good and that is worthy

It’s dumb to pretend they couldn’t have middle schools that prioritized walkability.

If HBW was bigger that would have been the first step to reduce overcrowding
Second, put options schools in the empty sites, rather than crowding everything in the middle.

You can’t claim “sorry it’s a small county so you might have to walk rather than walk to a very close school” and at same time claim “sorry the county is too big to bus an option program to WMS”. Cherry picking at its worst.

Agreed. We all saw the exact same people who said that moving Key 2 miles would kill the program turn around and present a custom made version of neighborhood school boundaries with long bus rides that were fine because it's a "tiny county." Make up your minds, people.

I see your point; but I still think it's a little different to put the choice program far away and relying on hundreds of families being willing to opt out of their neighborhood school to send their kid there, especially if they have other kids not in the program. On the other hand, the neighborhood kids are all going from the same area and much more likely to have multiple siblings going to the same neighborhood school. "Convenience" has been noted as a factor in people opting into programs.

If people are opting into options for convenience, they are complete waste of money and resources. WTAF.

It's not so much opting for a program because it's convenient, as opting for programs that are of interest/benefit the child AND are convenient. It's about making those opportunities for benefits more "convenient" to optimize the # of students who are most likely to benefit from them actually opt for them. This is mostly directly pertaining, imo, to immersion. Montessori (in APS) is generally a select group of people who are bent toward Montessori, with its pre-K program serving a need for some others and also serving as a tool in Montessori advocates' arguments for Montessori.

If location is a deterrent there just isn’t much support for the program. They could move HB to a barge on the Potomac and people would be buying kayaks to make sure they can get in.

HB parent here and this made me laugh but I tend to agree. I wasn't thrilled with the move to Rosslyn but I wasn't going to pull my kid either. Option programs deserve some stability too and shouldn't be shifted every few years, but since Immersion clearly has to move at this point, I don't get what's wrong with Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

I want my kids to stay at Hamm bc it is more diverse than Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a NA parent with one kid in immersion and another at their neighborhood school. This whole argument is silly. APS has said that it needs to move the Immersion MS program from Gunston because of overcrowding. It isn't being moved because of a desire from Immersion parents, but because of the needs of a neighborhood school.

Immersion should be moved somewhere centrally located to the middle of the county because it's a county-wide program. I don't really care beyond that. Kenmore, Swanson and TJ all seem reasonable. And it's not favoring a choice school to consider proximity and transportation in deciding where to locate the program, as that's a factor for all boundary decisions. This is not some plot to disadvantage Taylor parents.

Why does it need to be a central location? It’s not central now. It’s a small county. It’s very convenient that the one assumption you make already nixes the smallest impact decision: move the program to the school with the most excess capacity in our small county.

But you knew you were being disingenuous .

+1. “Should be centrally located” by whose standard? Why is that a priority when it displaces families living near those centrally located schools. Current Kenmore families are NOT happy about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a NA parent with one kid in immersion and another at their neighborhood school. This whole argument is silly. APS has said that it needs to move the Immersion MS program from Gunston because of overcrowding. It isn't being moved because of a desire from Immersion parents, but because of the needs of a neighborhood school.

Immersion should be moved somewhere centrally located to the middle of the county because it's a county-wide program. I don't really care beyond that. Kenmore, Swanson and TJ all seem reasonable. And it's not favoring a choice school to consider proximity and transportation in deciding where to locate the program, as that's a factor for all boundary decisions. This is not some plot to disadvantage Taylor parents.

Why does it need to be a central location? It’s not central now. It’s a small county. It’s very convenient that the one assumption you make already nixes the smallest impact decision: move the program to the school with the most excess capacity in our small county.

But you knew you were being disingenuous .

+1. “Should be centrally located” by whose standard? Why is that a priority when it displaces families living near those centrally located schools. Current Kenmore families are NOT happy about this.

Nobody's ever happy about proposals that mean significant change for them.

Everybody here seems only able to think in silos - just like the County and APS. Centrally locating countywide programs means balancing out the accessibility for all students throughout the county. Meanwhile, "displacing" families who live near those schools merely means they go a little farther to another school and is comparable to (1) the students coming from across the county to the centrally located choice program and (2) students who bus to a school because they're not in a walk zone anyway.

Nobody is entitled to attend the school closest to them. Schools do not convey with the sale of a house or the signing of a lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want my kids to stay at Hamm bc it is more diverse than Williamsburg.

And TJ and Kenmore are more diverse than Hamm. Want your kids to go to either of those?

Two ways to eliminate diversity as an excuse to not change boundaries:
1. Let APS make boundaries that result in more diverse schools regardless of what the boundaries look like or how it impacts any particular planning unit or neighborhood or family;
2. Eliminate boundaries all together and balance both enrollment and diversity across all schools through ranked choice admissions.