What do you expect from APS staff (option/neighborhood) on 4/30?
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Anonymous
Make sure demographics are a priority in all the upcoming boundary changes at every level....every time. Keep lobbying the SB, especially as a north Arlington parent, for prioritizing socioeconomic diversity along with the community's supposed number one priority of walkability. What it really takes is the UMC families rallying together and going to their neighborhood school and investing in it, rather than bashing it and avoiding it. Not much you can do about that from up there. But thank you for wanting to help. Please stay in the game and join the rest of us who have been pushing for policies and boundaries that at least start moving the needle in the right direction. Convince your neighbors that it is important to fight for the system as a whole and not just their individual neighborhoods and schools. |
Anonymous
Yes. First, the year-round calendar has to go. Even if it's just an excuse for why people don't want to go there, don't give them the excuse. Honestly, almost all the neighborhood have their kids in option schools, and it's sad for the kids on a different schedule to not be able to enjoy the summer with the rest of their friends. All the other kids are out playing, but the ones at Barcroft have to go in to bed because it's a school night for them. One year there was just one boy on our street at Barcroft and it was pitiful. The family had moved in to Barcroft not understanding the dynamic and weren't able to get a transfer out of Barcroft after the fact. They moved instead. I know there are families who do like it, or at least get used to it, but they are in the minority. And I would never advocate for doing away with a program that could demonstrate some type of improved outcome for disadvantaged kids. But it's not. Not in any way that an objective observer could measure. There is no data. Second, keep the current boundary. If the boundary changes by moving much further S or further W, nothing else will matter. The fr/l rate will go up and nothing will induce UMC families/engaged families to enroll at Barcroft. And some families who have given it a shot based on the new principal might leave. I really hope this doesn't happen. And Randolph, well, with their walk zone there doesn't seem to be much they can do to decrease poverty there. There just aren't enough SFH's in that boundary to balance out the low-income apartments. And if they change the boundary, then where do the kids in the boundary go? Over to Barcroft? Or Drew? I don't know. |
Anonymous
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I’m not following the issue with breaking up Barcroft and turning it to an option school.
Not all of Barcroft will go Randolph. Some will Choice into whatever program Moves in, and the rest will be spilt amongst other schools. |
Anonymous
You can’t plan on a certain number of students choicing out, APS has to provide enough neighborhood seats for every child in the neighborhood, whether they transfer or not. |
Anonymous
Except with option schools, you can plan on at least the disadvantaged neighborhood population keeping their neighborhood seats. They come in through VPI. The displaced families would be the UMC ones. I would like to know just how many currently enrolled UMC kids there are living in actual Barcroft (not the current boundary, because that is likely to change). How many would definitely risk being shut out of their neighborhood school? With so many transfers, how many families could be affected? |
Anonymous
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I am confused about how moving the option schools would work. Full disclosure: not in any of the potential schools being considered and unlikely to apply got any choice programs.
1) If key and ASFS become neighborhood— the current ASFS kids who are below a certain grade since this may happen in 2021 would move to Key most likely (if currently in bounds for key). The younger kids who are in the walk zone for ASFS but currently attend Taylor would move over to ASFS. 2). If the key immersion moved to say Barcroft or Carlin spring then the current K and 1st graders currently enrolled would have to move to the Barcroft or CS location. Since it’s immersion wouldn’t all of APS kids be allowed to apply? How does help the displaced neighborhood kids? Also, how does it work for siblings? So, let’s say the entire key immersion program is moved in 2021 to a s.arlington location. Then presumably the current immersion students would have to decide whether to move or not to the new location. Then they would hold a lottery for all remaining openings. Well, I have a k and a 2nd grader but wouldn’t send kids to two different elementary schools. So this just sounds really complicated. I seriously do not envy everyone who has to handle all of the admin stuff. How are they going to balance all this enrollment given that they don’t know how all the people will decide with the various option programs and then the change in locations. This is a sincere question. |
Anonymous
ASFS will likely be split up. The families living the current boundary (majority of school) would likely go to the new Key. The families there from Cherrydale will likely stay. |
Anonymous
Yes, that part isn’t the confusing part. I meant the rest of moving the option programs at once to new locations. |
Anonymous
I'm not sure I understand your confusion-- but, right now people apply to Key. If Key moves (or any other option school for that matter) the currently enrolled students will have a choice, either move iwth the school or return to their neighborhood schools. I would imagine that when this move happens their will be waitlist movement as well, b/c some families will decide not to move. |
Anonymous
DP here, and largely agree with the above. Barcroft's year-round calendar is a hindrance. If the FARMs rates were lower/test scores higher, UMC families might overlook the calendar and attend, but the combo is too much so they flee. The data doesn't demonstrate the year-round calendar helps the disadvantaged. Data DOES show that better socio-economic balance (i.e. much lower than the current 60% FARMs rate) helps the disadvantaged. If removing the year-round calendar helps reduce even some of the large number of UMC families transferring out, that alone would help cut the FARMs rate, perhaps considerably. Removing the year-round calendar doesn't hurt the economically disadvantaged, and might help. It's worth trying. |
Anonymous
Both UMC and disadvantaged students would be displaced. We're talking high-poverty schools here, at 80% and 60%, respectively, for Carlin Springs and Barcroft. Even with VPI, option schools wouldn't keep all of the disadvantaged students at their schools. Shifting Claremont's immersion to Carlin Springs makes sense, but I have qualms with moving Key to Barcroft. First, you'd essentially be bussing in N. Arlington students to displace S. Arlington ones. Second, with Carlin Springs, Campbell, and Barcroft all as option schools, there be only one neighborhood school for the western end of the Pike. Now contrast that with the NW quadrant. I don't want to see ATS move to Nottingham either, but that seems like the lesser evil here. |
Anonymous
As a side note - At least on the English-dominant side, for grades past first or second, it will be difficult to fill any seats from Key that are left open by students who choose not to stay with the program at its new location. Kids entering the program at that late stage need to have fairly high proficiency in Spanish and are required to test into the program (as opposed to simply filling a seat via lottery). I imagine this is one of the concerns for families who don’t want the immersion program undermined by a relocation. |
Anonymous
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Always interesting to look at the data. Over twice as many kids in South Arlington schools transfer out of their home school than North. And the top three feeders to ATS are from the schools closest to ATS. I’d like to see more of the options in South Arlington to strategically break up pockets of extreme ED and drive socioeconomic diversity. By having the options closer together, it may be possible to share buses so that buses pick up at fewer stops, then drop off at more than one school (could stagger start times).
Carlin Springs - new home for Claremont Immersion (2nd largest number of transfers out countywide, open larger building that is highly walkable and use less walkable building for option) ATS - new home for Key Immersion (closer to Spanish speakers, more central, less walkable) Campbell - EL Barcroft - new home for ATS (3rd highest transfers out in county, brings a high-performing school South and may be more convenient for SA families) Henry - new Montessori (although, perhaps put these seats at Nottingham and let the Career Center tear down the Henry building to make better use of that land for a high school) Net-net, this would move one additional option south, but that suppports the numbers. More Souty Arlington families are choicing out of their schools, so stop fighting it and give SA more conveniently located choice schools. Transfers: SOUTH Abington 413 Barcroft 297 Carlin Springs 352 Drew 107 Henry 115 Hoffman Boston 100 Oakridge 204 Randolph 160 TOTAL: 1748 NORTH Ashlawn 122 (54 to ATS) Barrett 108 Discovery 70 Glebe 109 (41 to ATS) Jamestown 70 Long Branch 169 McKinley 106 (47 to ATS) Nottingham 54 Tuckahoe 39 Taylor 225 - 105 (Sci Foc) TOTAL: 897 Note: Not including Key with 569 because that is people who select Science Focus, effectively their neighborhood school. Source: APS Transfer Report - https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Transfer-Report-2016-17.pdf |
Anonymous
What about all of the planning units in Lyon Village and Virginia Square currently in the Taylor boundary? |
Anonymous
| Every single boundary will have to be reevaluated. No guarantees for anyone. |