Madison Community Center in Arlington - making it a school again?

[Anonymous]

Is this on the table at all? For all the capacity problems in the county, doesn't it make sense to turn schools back into schools? Or is this too remotely located (it's at the upper edge of 22207) to be considered ideal?

[Anonymous]

It would have to be a choice ES. It's in the Jamestown boundary, which is the least crowded school in the county. It could pull from Taylor, but the boundary between Taylor & Jamestown is already very close to the actual school (Taylor). It would be much more beneficial to turn Reed into an ES b/c that would actually help Tuckahoe, McKinley and Glebe, which did get any benefit from Discovery.

I guess they could turn ASFS in a neighborhood school and more the the program to Madison. That would allow the program to serve children from all over the county. That won't happen though, b/c a lot of parents bought into Key just so they could get guaranteed admission to ASFS.

[Anonymous]

APS decided to build a brand new school, Discovery, over reopening Madison, which likely would have required a complete reconstruction. Also the neighborhoods near Madison aren't that walkable, which is why the Williamsburg site was more appealing.

[Anonymous]

Reed is the logical choice to turn back into an ES - on many levels.

[Anonymous]

Could it be a middle or high school, or is there something structural about the facility or the grounds that makes that unworkable?

[Anonymous]

Too many admin people are invested in Reed staying a daycare (its a perk as an employee of ACPS if you can get a spot).

[Anonymous]

I believe that post-Discovery, Madison was on the table when they were discussing the relocation of HB Woodlawn and the Stratford MS last year. Some people were proposing making it a "sixth grade academy" that would relieve some of the capacity issues at Williamsburg and Swanson.

I know it's a county-owned site (not APS). If I recall correctly, I heard of 2 site-specific problems that were mentioned. First, it's adjacent to a historic site, which makes building complicated, I guess. Second, and I wish I were making this up, there's a dog park at that site, and some school or county board member mentioned to someone in our neighborhood group that the dog park is "untouchable". But dog park or no, I think the take away is that Madison is used by residents, many older residents, who live near there and they want it to stay the way it is. Again, as has been mentioned on other threads about APS capacity, there is a serious generational divide on how to use these properties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too many admin people are invested in Reed staying a daycare (its a perk as an employee of ACPS if you can get a spot).

That stinks, one of the ES in McLean/Falls Church has a similar problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe that post-Discovery, Madison was on the table when they were discussing the relocation of HB Woodlawn and the Stratford MS last year. Some people were proposing making it a "sixth grade academy" that would relieve some of the capacity issues at Williamsburg and Swanson.

I know it's a county-owned site (not APS). If I recall correctly, I heard of 2 site-specific problems that were mentioned. First, it's adjacent to a historic site, which makes building complicated, I guess. Second, and I wish I were making this up, there's a dog park at that site, and some school or county board member mentioned to someone in our neighborhood group that the dog park is "untouchable". But dog park or no, I think the take away is that Madison is used by residents, many older residents, who live near there and they want it to stay the way it is. Again, as has been mentioned on other threads about APS capacity, there is a serious generational divide on how to use these properties.

Well, I have a kid at Williamsburg and don't really care to see Madison change. First, for all the reasons mentioned regarding site difficulties, and second, because even though there may be a generational divide, I'm not fond of taking away something seen as a benefit to seniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe that post-Discovery, Madison was on the table when they were discussing the relocation of HB Woodlawn and the Stratford MS last year. Some people were proposing making it a "sixth grade academy" that would relieve some of the capacity issues at Williamsburg and Swanson.

I know it's a county-owned site (not APS). If I recall correctly, I heard of 2 site-specific problems that were mentioned. First, it's adjacent to a historic site, which makes building complicated, I guess. Second, and I wish I were making this up, there's a dog park at that site, and some school or county board member mentioned to someone in our neighborhood group that the dog park is "untouchable". But dog park or no, I think the take away is that Madison is used by residents, many older residents, who live near there and they want it to stay the way it is. Again, as has been mentioned on other threads about APS capacity, there is a serious generational divide on how to use these properties.

That is funny about the dog park but not surprising. The same people are always there and are really weird/obsessed with it. One of them must have some clout with the county.

[Anonymous]

Some sites that are senior centers now were elementary schools when these senior citizens were students. It's complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reed is the logical choice to turn back into an ES - on many levels.

Every community is going to fight any repurposed building being turned into a school (traffic! green space! taking amenities away from people without kids!). It also takes more money to renovate a school (more of an issue for Madison than Reed) than to build new, compared to the number of additional seats you get. That's one reason the two-additions plan in south Arlington is kind of a non-starter--if its 80K for a new school and 50K per school to renovate two schools, we should just build a new school. At some point they may need to bring Reed, Madison, et al online, but that won't be until after they have exhausted locations for new schools.

[Anonymous]

Reed IS the next most viable option for a new ES in N Arlington and staff has talked about it on a number of occasions. The staff preschool will be moved. Despite any opposition from APS teachers who like the convenience, it will eventually move. Moreover, the surrounding neighborhood wants its neighborhood school back. Reed will reopen as an ES. It's just a matter of when.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe that post-Discovery, Madison was on the table when they were discussing the relocation of HB Woodlawn and the Stratford MS last year. Some people were proposing making it a "sixth grade academy" that would relieve some of the capacity issues at Williamsburg and Swanson.

I know it's a county-owned site (not APS). If I recall correctly, I heard of 2 site-specific problems that were mentioned. First, it's adjacent to a historic site, which makes building complicated, I guess. Second, and I wish I were making this up, there's a dog park at that site, and some school or county board member mentioned to someone in our neighborhood group that the dog park is "untouchable". But dog park or no, I think the take away is that Madison is used by residents, many older residents, who live near there and they want it to stay the way it is. Again, as has been mentioned on other threads about APS capacity, there is a serious generational divide on how to use these properties.

The sixth-grade academy thing was a fringe idea supported by about 20 members of the Jamestown PTA who saw an opportunity to sequester their kids in a small school. It never really had any support -- even of the broader Jamestown PTA.

[Anonymous]

I"m glad the question got raised.

For example, Langston community center is huge and right next to a playground. Why not that as an ES. It would relieve Glebe overcrowding (but you'll have to forgive me; i have not studied the boundary map).

I don't get why there are so many community centers in ARL and yet we have school shortages. I strongly suspect (but don't know) that the community centers don't get a lot of play. For example, langston and Lee community centers are what, a mile apart.