APS elementary planning initiative called off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of things to disagree about.  Basic math is not one of them.  According to the most recent projections Oakridge will be 133 students over capacity next year, not 200.  Fleet is going to open with 752 new neighborhood seats.  It doesn't matter how you play the shell game with neighborhood and option seats at Drew and Henry.  Montessori is moving out of Drew to Henry, but every Montessori student moved to Henry opens up a neighborhood seat at Drew.  The indisputable fact is that there will be 752 new permanent neighborhood seats opened in 2019 between route 50 and 395.  Montessori is moving to Henry which will be expanded to 500 seats after the building refresh next summer, and the program will be grown.  There isn't enough overage in the SE quadrant now to fill all those seats.  There is an undeniable lack of neighborhood seats in Rosslyn.  How will they be filled?  That doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure out.

You are overlooking the fact that Henry had something like 560 students this past year and was at almost 150% capacity. Drew is going to gain far fewer neighborhood seats as a result of the move than we are actually losing at Henry. The Montessori program will be expanded over time, but not meaningfully in the years right after Fleet opens (which is what APS will be planning for in this process, anything more than five years into the future is largely irrelevant becaus3 the SB will have to review the boundaries again within five years anyway). That right there is going to eat up a couple hundred of the 752 “new” seats.

[Anonymous]

Wait are you saying that they might send Rosslyn to Drew? Long Branch is starting to look a lot better I bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait are you saying that they might send Rosslyn to Drew? Long Branch is starting to look a lot better I bet.

DP. Yeah, they’re going to bus Rosslyn past Long Branch, Fleet and Hoffman Boston to get all the way down to Drew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of things to disagree about.  Basic math is not one of them.  According to the most recent projections Oakridge will be 133 students over capacity next year, not 200.  Fleet is going to open with 752 new neighborhood seats.  It doesn't matter how you play the shell game with neighborhood and option seats at Drew and Henry.  Montessori is moving out of Drew to Henry, but every Montessori student moved to Henry opens up a neighborhood seat at Drew.  The indisputable fact is that there will be 752 new permanent neighborhood seats opened in 2019 between route 50 and 395.  Montessori is moving to Henry which will be expanded to 500 seats after the building refresh next summer, and the program will be grown.  There isn't enough overage in the SE quadrant now to fill all those seats.  There is an undeniable lack of neighborhood seats in Rosslyn.  How will they be filled?  That doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure out.

You are looking only at next year. In making boundary decisions, APS has to look at least 5 years out b/c they won't change boundaries more frequently. It's looking at the later projections that get you to those numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think any of the Cherrydale families were bullied but the Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn/Lyon Village folks sure are reaping what they sowed when the declared Kirkwood was too dangerous to cross but are now claiming the Rosslyn folks must attend ASFS because they have to walk from the metro. My map says the quickest walking route from Clarendon metro to ASFS is .6 miles and VA Square is .8 miles. Both routes either cross or walk along Kirkwood. So, by their own logic, Rosslyn families should not be zoned to ASFS and be forced to risk their lives crossing Kirkwood to get to Extended Day.

First of all it was the county that said Kirkwood was too busy to cross. Secondly, the quickest route is Art 55 and parents would take the bus and walk 0.3 miles.

Second, you are conflating street crossing for solo children (the walk zone) versus parents pickup up kids. Do you think 5th graders are taking metro on their own in APS.

At the end of the day, for Rosslyn the closest neighborhood school with the most direct traffic is ASFS — that’s why the parents are defending it, b/c LB and Taylor require mixing with arterial roads during rush hours.

Looks like Clarendon/Courhouse can walk with a parent just fine to Long Branch. It's less than a mile as depicted by this map. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ES_LongBranch_WZ_Policy_Final.pdf

You can even take the off-street trail so you don't have to cross any busy roads. Looks like a fine solution to me, and fixes the loudest part of the problem.

What off street trail bypasses wash blvd from Courthouse/Clarendon?

Walking from day Rocky Run would be possible for a parent, but a child can’t cross 10th or Washington Blvd on their own, and there are few crossing lights on either road.

A child can’t cross Wilson either to go to ASF ... that’s why there is a bus and there will continue to be a bus. It just may go to different schools. Clearly these folks haven’t been through boundary changes before.

We have been through changes but usually it’s dictated by professionals on the school board staff, not the loudest parents with matching T-shirts.

Subjecting kids to bus rides that take twice as long than any current Taylor student just bc a bunch of parents complained loudly is hardly fair nor how most boundary processes go. Generally in re zoning people on the edge simply go the school across the boundary which is not any further. Rosslyn to Taylor is creating a long thin peninsula like Ashlawn.

Definitely the MS boundary showed that if parents complain loud enough or cry at school board meetings they can sway the board.

Since you brought it up, what exactly is the issue with the ASFS T-shirts? The only T-shirts I'm aware of were those of parents and teachers who didn't want the school moved. Unless you were in favor of swapping schools you have nothing to be offended over. If you are all about creating alternate facts and stirring up controversy for your own twisted ends then I understand. Let everyone judge for themselves. What exactly is so bad about what the T-shirt people said?

https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-meeting-april-19-2018/
53:15
1:10:45

While you are at it look at all the other Arlingtonians advocating for their schools. What about the Key parents in the video? How do you think they feel about you trying to take over their school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think any of the Cherrydale families were bullied but the Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn/Lyon Village folks sure are reaping what they sowed when the declared Kirkwood was too dangerous to cross but are now claiming the Rosslyn folks must attend ASFS because they have to walk from the metro. My map says the quickest walking route from Clarendon metro to ASFS is .6 miles and VA Square is .8 miles. Both routes either cross or walk along Kirkwood. So, by their own logic, Rosslyn families should not be zoned to ASFS and be forced to risk their lives crossing Kirkwood to get to Extended Day.

First of all it was the county that said Kirkwood was too busy to cross. Secondly, the quickest route is Art 55 and parents would take the bus and walk 0.3 miles.

Second, you are conflating street crossing for solo children (the walk zone) versus parents pickup up kids. Do you think 5th graders are taking metro on their own in APS.

At the end of the day, for Rosslyn the closest neighborhood school with the most direct traffic is ASFS — that’s why the parents are defending it, b/c LB and Taylor require mixing with arterial roads during rush hours.

Looks like Clarendon/Courhouse can walk with a parent just fine to Long Branch. It's less than a mile as depicted by this map. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ES_LongBranch_WZ_Policy_Final.pdf

You can even take the off-street trail so you don't have to cross any busy roads. Looks like a fine solution to me, and fixes the loudest part of the problem.

What off street trail bypasses wash blvd from Courthouse/Clarendon?

Walking from day Rocky Run would be possible for a parent, but a child can’t cross 10th or Washington Blvd on their own, and there are few crossing lights on either road.

A child can’t cross Wilson either to go to ASF ... that’s why there is a bus and there will continue to be a bus. It just may go to different schools. Clearly these folks haven’t been through boundary changes before.

We have been through changes but usually it’s dictated by professionals on the school board staff, not the loudest parents with matching T-shirts.

Subjecting kids to bus rides that take twice as long than any current Taylor student just bc a bunch of parents complained loudly is hardly fair nor how most boundary processes go. Generally in re zoning people on the edge simply go the school across the boundary which is not any further. Rosslyn to Taylor is creating a long thin peninsula like Ashlawn.

Definitely the MS boundary showed that if parents complain loud enough or cry at school board meetings they can sway the board.

Since you brought it up, what exactly is the issue with the ASFS T-shirts? The only T-shirts I'm aware of were those of parents and teachers who didn't want the school moved. Unless you were in favor of swapping schools you have nothing to be offended over. If you are all about creating alternate facts and stirring up controversy for your own twisted ends then I understand. Let everyone judge for themselves. What exactly is so bad about what the T-shirt people said?

https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-meeting-april-19-2018/
53:15
1:10:45

While you are at it look at all the other Arlingtonians advocating for their schools. What about the Key parents in the video? How do you think they feel about you trying to take over their school?

SMH. My point was that SB should not be swayed t-shirts and crying parents, which ever way they advocate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think any of the Cherrydale families were bullied but the Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn/Lyon Village folks sure are reaping what they sowed when the declared Kirkwood was too dangerous to cross but are now claiming the Rosslyn folks must attend ASFS because they have to walk from the metro. My map says the quickest walking route from Clarendon metro to ASFS is .6 miles and VA Square is .8 miles. Both routes either cross or walk along Kirkwood. So, by their own logic, Rosslyn families should not be zoned to ASFS and be forced to risk their lives crossing Kirkwood to get to Extended Day.

First of all it was the county that said Kirkwood was too busy to cross. Secondly, the quickest route is Art 55 and parents would take the bus and walk 0.3 miles.

Second, you are conflating street crossing for solo children (the walk zone) versus parents pickup up kids. Do you think 5th graders are taking metro on their own in APS.

At the end of the day, for Rosslyn the closest neighborhood school with the most direct traffic is ASFS — that’s why the parents are defending it, b/c LB and Taylor require mixing with arterial roads during rush hours.

Looks like Clarendon/Courhouse can walk with a parent just fine to Long Branch. It's less than a mile as depicted by this map. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ES_LongBranch_WZ_Policy_Final.pdf

You can even take the off-street trail so you don't have to cross any busy roads. Looks like a fine solution to me, and fixes the loudest part of the problem.

What off street trail bypasses wash blvd from Courthouse/Clarendon?

Walking from day Rocky Run would be possible for a parent, but a child can’t cross 10th or Washington Blvd on their own, and there are few crossing lights on either road.

A child can’t cross Wilson either to go to ASF ... that’s why there is a bus and there will continue to be a bus. It just may go to different schools. Clearly these folks haven’t been through boundary changes before.

We have been through changes but usually it’s dictated by professionals on the school board staff, not the loudest parents with matching T-shirts.

Subjecting kids to bus rides that take twice as long than any current Taylor student just bc a bunch of parents complained loudly is hardly fair nor how most boundary processes go. Generally in re zoning people on the edge simply go the school across the boundary which is not any further. Rosslyn to Taylor is creating a long thin peninsula like Ashlawn.

Definitely the MS boundary showed that if parents complain loud enough or cry at school board meetings they can sway the board.

Since you brought it up, what exactly is the issue with the ASFS T-shirts? The only T-shirts I'm aware of were those of parents and teachers who didn't want the school moved. Unless you were in favor of swapping schools you have nothing to be offended over. If you are all about creating alternate facts and stirring up controversy for your own twisted ends then I understand. Let everyone judge for themselves. What exactly is so bad about what the T-shirt people said?

https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-meeting-april-19-2018/
53:15
1:10:45

While you are at it look at all the other Arlingtonians advocating for their schools. What about the Key parents in the video? How do you think they feel about you trying to take over their school?

PP here. And to clear the record I was against swapping the schools, but pretty sure T-shirt parents were advocating for kicking Rosslyn to the curb.

[Anonymous]

T-shirt people wanted ASFS to remain at its current location and to walk to school. Period. End of story. It was not a nefarious plot to force Rosslyn out of ASFS.

It’s like saying Rosslyn people want to keep the old Key boundaries because they hate the walk zone people and are only advocating because they find it amusing that the neighborhood people have to see ASFS each morning as they get picked up by their school bus to go Taylor. No, the Rosslyn people simply want to continue to go to ASFS.

There appears to be only a handful of people, if that many (but who all appear to frequent this forum), who have a personal hate against those who want a walk zone for ASFS (aka, the yellow-shirt wearing jerks, the bullies, the racists, the poor-haters, the cray cray, the shameful, etc.). I don’t think I’ve read anyone name-calling the Rosslyn folks anything on this board. Why? Probably because everyone except the few haters on this forum are normal, reasonable people who can understand that different folks have different preferences and by wanting what’s best for their family, they are not purposefully trying to hurt others. They are just advocating for what they want.

The problem is, creating a walk zone around ASFS is reasonable now that ASFS is a neighborhood school and the name-callers can’t stand that. They hope if they scream and yell and throw the most ugly accusations around no one will dare touch their boundaries. That’s the only thing they can do because keeping antiquated team boundaries when two new schools are opening doesn’t make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think any of the Cherrydale families were bullied but the Clarendon/Courthouse/Rosslyn/Lyon Village folks sure are reaping what they sowed when the declared Kirkwood was too dangerous to cross but are now claiming the Rosslyn folks must attend ASFS because they have to walk from the metro. My map says the quickest walking route from Clarendon metro to ASFS is .6 miles and VA Square is .8 miles. Both routes either cross or walk along Kirkwood. So, by their own logic, Rosslyn families should not be zoned to ASFS and be forced to risk their lives crossing Kirkwood to get to Extended Day.

First of all it was the county that said Kirkwood was too busy to cross. Secondly, the quickest route is Art 55 and parents would take the bus and walk 0.3 miles.

Second, you are conflating street crossing for solo children (the walk zone) versus parents pickup up kids. Do you think 5th graders are taking metro on their own in APS.

At the end of the day, for Rosslyn the closest neighborhood school with the most direct traffic is ASFS — that’s why the parents are defending it, b/c LB and Taylor require mixing with arterial roads during rush hours.

Looks like Clarendon/Courhouse can walk with a parent just fine to Long Branch. It's less than a mile as depicted by this map. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ES_LongBranch_WZ_Policy_Final.pdf

You can even take the off-street trail so you don't have to cross any busy roads. Looks like a fine solution to me, and fixes the loudest part of the problem.

What off street trail bypasses wash blvd from Courthouse/Clarendon?

Walking from day Rocky Run would be possible for a parent, but a child can’t cross 10th or Washington Blvd on their own, and there are few crossing lights on either road.

A child can’t cross Wilson either to go to ASF ... that’s why there is a bus and there will continue to be a bus. It just may go to different schools. Clearly these folks haven’t been through boundary changes before.

We have been through changes but usually it’s dictated by professionals on the school board staff, not the loudest parents with matching T-shirts.

Subjecting kids to bus rides that take twice as long than any current Taylor student just bc a bunch of parents complained loudly is hardly fair nor how most boundary processes go. Generally in re zoning people on the edge simply go the school across the boundary which is not any further. Rosslyn to Taylor is creating a long thin peninsula like Ashlawn.

Definitely the MS boundary showed that if parents complain loud enough or cry at school board meetings they can sway the board.

Since you brought it up, what exactly is the issue with the ASFS T-shirts? The only T-shirts I'm aware of were those of parents and teachers who didn't want the school moved. Unless you were in favor of swapping schools you have nothing to be offended over. If you are all about creating alternate facts and stirring up controversy for your own twisted ends then I understand. Let everyone judge for themselves. What exactly is so bad about what the T-shirt people said?

https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-meeting-april-19-2018/
53:15
1:10:45

While you are at it look at all the other Arlingtonians advocating for their schools. What about the Key parents in the video? How do you think they feel about you trying to take over their school?

SMH. My point was that SB should not be swayed t-shirts and crying parents, which ever way they advocate.

While I agree that the SB shouldn’t be swayed by purely emotional arguments, one thing that surprised me in the location review was the extent to which the SB members really aren’t familiar with all of the neighborhoods and their needs/considerations. Unless it’s something that touches on their own community, they primarily rely upon the staff to educate them about those needs/considerations and inform their decision making, so if the staff makes mistakes or omits relevant information, the SB members are largely unaware of that unless the community brings it to their attention. While there are some downsides to the way the SB invites community engagement, this is one important benefit of it, to serve as a check on the staff’s data and analysis and enable the SB to make fully informed decisions,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:T-shirt people wanted ASFS to remain at its current location and to walk to school. Period. End of story. It was not a nefarious plot to force Rosslyn out of ASFS.

It’s like saying Rosslyn people want to keep the old Key boundaries because they hate the walk zone people and are only advocating because they find it amusing that the neighborhood people have to see ASFS each morning as they get picked up by their school bus to go Taylor. No, the Rosslyn people simply want to continue to go to ASFS.

There appears to be only a handful of people, if that many (but who all appear to frequent this forum), who have a personal hate against those who want a walk zone for ASFS (aka, the yellow-shirt wearing jerks, the bullies, the racists, the poor-haters, the cray cray, the shameful, etc.). I don’t think I’ve read anyone name-calling the Rosslyn folks anything on this board. Why? Probably because everyone except the few haters on this forum are normal, reasonable people who can understand that different folks have different preferences and by wanting what’s best for their family, they are not purposefully trying to hurt others. They are just advocating for what they want.

The problem is, creating a walk zone around ASFS is reasonable now that ASFS is a neighborhood school and the name-callers can’t stand that. They hope if they scream and yell and throw the most ugly accusations around no one will dare touch their boundaries. That’s the only thing they can do because keeping antiquated team boundaries when two new schools are opening doesn’t make sense.

Talk about hyperbolic. No one is calling anyone racist. And the cray cray posters were about jointing another schools PTA in order to influence elections, which definitely is far afield and will be reported to the National PTA.

And yes, retiring the team boundaries when both new schools are opening is a great idea, so let’s make the sensible decision and wait for 2021. Glad we agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T-shirt people wanted ASFS to remain at its current location and to walk to school. Period. End of story. It was not a nefarious plot to force Rosslyn out of ASFS.

It’s like saying Rosslyn people want to keep the old Key boundaries because they hate the walk zone people and are only advocating because they find it amusing that the neighborhood people have to see ASFS each morning as they get picked up by their school bus to go Taylor. No, the Rosslyn people simply want to continue to go to ASFS.

There appears to be only a handful of people, if that many (but who all appear to frequent this forum), who have a personal hate against those who want a walk zone for ASFS (aka, the yellow-shirt wearing jerks, the bullies, the racists, the poor-haters, the cray cray, the shameful, etc.). I don’t think I’ve read anyone name-calling the Rosslyn folks anything on this board. Why? Probably because everyone except the few haters on this forum are normal, reasonable people who can understand that different folks have different preferences and by wanting what’s best for their family, they are not purposefully trying to hurt others. They are just advocating for what they want.

The problem is, creating a walk zone around ASFS is reasonable now that ASFS is a neighborhood school and the name-callers can’t stand that. They hope if they scream and yell and throw the most ugly accusations around no one will dare touch their boundaries. That’s the only thing they can do because keeping antiquated team boundaries when two new schools are opening doesn’t make sense.

Talk about hyperbolic. No one is calling anyone racist. And the cray cray posters were about jointing another schools PTA in order to influence elections, which definitely is far afield and will be reported to the National PTA.

And yes, retiring the team boundaries when both new schools are opening is a great idea, so let’s make the sensible decision and wait for 2021. Glad we agree

A Rosslyn poster earlier in this thread called he Cherrydale folks racist. Also, not only has the story of outside people joining the PTA to vote in the electi9n been debunked, but even if it were true, this is permitted under the National PTA bylaws so your complaint isn’t going to go very far.

[Anonymous]

There have been some very unkind words said - in person - directed at both sides. Ridiculous. All of these kids will end up at the same MS in a few years.

APS staff should just make decisions without further community input. Obviously, the parents aren’t mature enough to handle it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:T-shirt people wanted ASFS to remain at its current location and to walk to school. Period. End of story. It was not a nefarious plot to force Rosslyn out of ASFS.

It’s like saying Rosslyn people want to keep the old Key boundaries because they hate the walk zone people and are only advocating because they find it amusing that the neighborhood people have to see ASFS each morning as they get picked up by their school bus to go Taylor. No, the Rosslyn people simply want to continue to go to ASFS.

There appears to be only a handful of people, if that many (but who all appear to frequent this forum), who have a personal hate against those who want a walk zone for ASFS (aka, the yellow-shirt wearing jerks, the bullies, the racists, the poor-haters, the cray cray, the shameful, etc.). I don’t think I’ve read anyone name-calling the Rosslyn folks anything on this board. Why? Probably because everyone except the few haters on this forum are normal, reasonable people who can understand that different folks have different preferences and by wanting what’s best for their family, they are not purposefully trying to hurt others. They are just advocating for what they want.

The problem is, creating a walk zone around ASFS is reasonable now that ASFS is a neighborhood school and the name-callers can’t stand that. They hope if they scream and yell and throw the most ugly accusations around no one will dare touch their boundaries. That’s the only thing they can do because keeping antiquated team boundaries when two new schools are opening doesn’t make sense.

Talk about hyperbolic. No one is calling anyone racist. And the cray cray posters were about jointing another schools PTA in order to influence elections, which definitely is far afield and will be reported to the National PTA.

And yes, retiring the team boundaries when both new schools are opening is a great idea, so let’s make the sensible decision and wait for 2021. Glad we agree

A Rosslyn poster earlier in this thread called he Cherrydale folks racist. Also, not only has the story of outside people joining the PTA to vote in the electi9n been debunked, but even if it were true, this is permitted under the National PTA bylaws so your complaint isn’t going to go very far.

Quote the thread or it didn’t happen. Just spreading more hyperbole.

As for the National PTA, if their bylaws slow it I’m sure it’s because it is patently absurd to do such a thing. It will be easy for the PTA to reconcile from their records, not just trust some random poster saying it was ‘debunked’ what proof? I have heard this outside of DCUM so it could have some credence, but the National PTA can sort it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There have been some very unkind words said - in person - directed at both sides. Ridiculous. All of these kids will end up at the same MS in a few years.

APS staff should just make decisions without further community input. Obviously, the parents aren’t mature enough to handle it.

Agree the staff should make the decisions rather than have school board swayed by who has the brightest T-shirt color.

But it’s hard to see how this is much different from when Nottingham was about to be made an option school; an outside group was targeting their school and they would be scattered as a school community. Same thing happening here, a faction of Cherrydale parents are targeting ASFS and scattering over half the schools population, shattering the community.

The outrage from Nottingham was widely lauded on DCUM; outrage from current ASFS community should be equally understandable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been some very unkind words said - in person - directed at both sides. Ridiculous. All of these kids will end up at the same MS in a few years.

APS staff should just make decisions without further community input. Obviously, the parents aren’t mature enough to handle it.

Agree the staff should make the decisions rather than have school board swayed by who has the brightest T-shirt color.

But it’s hard to see how this is much different from when Nottingham was about to be made an option school; an outside group was targeting their school and they would be scattered as a school community. Same thing happening here, a faction of Cherrydale parents are targeting ASFS and scattering over half the schools population, shattering the community.

The outrage from Nottingham was widely lauded on DCUM; outrage from current ASFS community should be equally understandable.

No outside community was targeting Nottingham, that proposal came from the staff. Further, Nottinham focused their advocacy on the substance of the staff’s analysis, not on attacking other communities. Apples and oranges.