APS Closing Nottingham

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It actually seems like a good idea. And it sounds like they’ve already laid the groundwork to make it happen.

I think it’s a terrible idea, but I agree that it sounds like it’s going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you not just push out the population of the to-be renovated school into schools that are closer? Even if some kids are bussed to other schools, it is going to be better and shorter bus ride as opposed to trucking everyone to the north west corner of Arlington and destroying the heartbeat of an entire neighborhood?

Also, far less disruptive would be leasing office space as temporary swing space. They did this with the APS preschool, the one that provide space for APS employees- it seemed like a really nice space. Especially with the low occupancy rates of office space across Arlington

We don’t live in the immediate Nottingham surrounding neighborhood, and my child is old enough that he will not be impacted (he probably wants to be impacted and use the slide at Discovery). However, fundamentally, I don’t think students or neighborhoods should be sacrificed when there are other viable options.

I think it be tough for an school to fit in an office building for what could be a year. With lack of outdoor space, a gym or cafeteri, etc.

I also think it be hard to move kids into multiple other schools. Most schools in s. Arlington are at capacity. They can't really absorb 600 other kids. Nottingham is undercapacity and so are the surrounding schools so there is room to a absorb students

Plus they looked at all this and the PowerPoint lays it out. Repurposing an ES cost 5 million. Using office space, community centers, the WL annex or just building a new school next to an old one is 40 million plus.

I think logistically and financially it make the most sense but I know how hard it is and I am really sorry.

I agree with most of this, unfortunately. Sorry to the Nottingham community. However, I think it’s very important that APS retain this site and never sell it, because there may come a time in the not-too-distant future where we need the permanent seats in this area again. Also, if the school being renovated right now is Barcroft or Randolph, I think they could use seats at Drew/Fleet temporarily rather than bus the kids so far from home en masse. If the school being renovated right now is Montessori or a N Arlington school, use Nottingham.

I don't understand this idea of breaking up the school for one year during a renovation by dispersing kids to multiple nearby schools. That's so disruptive to many more people and more schools than the inconvenience of one year "long distance" schlepping up from Columbia Pike to Nottingham.

I have no idea which school needs immediate renovations, and I’m a Barcroft parent. Just thinking about how difficult that distance could be for some (not me per se). But maybe all conferences would be virtual and special events could be held somewhere closer to home so that families who can’t get to Nottingham can still be part of the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t they looking more seriously at building the S Arlington elementary? They report and presentation yesterday said it was going to be needed but basically that “it’s hard” because the site is county owned. If the demand is there for Virginia Highlands, let’s invest in S Arlington and give them the elementary they need, rather than creating a bandaid solution by shutting down Nottingham, even though the report acknowledges it may need to be reopened as a neighborhood school. IMHO it just seems like the school board doesn’t want to work with the county. A cynical part of me wonders if this is a play to get N Arlingotn parents to push for investment in S Arlington (… and it might work)

If we give them permission to invest in South Arlington, do you think they’ll stop trying to destroy active and invested school communities in the North? There other ways to achieve “equity” besides making everyone’s experience equally awful. We could, you know, raise the bar.

Oh my.

Yeah. North Arlington has to give the SB and the County permission to invest in south Arlington. At least someone finally actually stated it outright!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we expect support for school choice and vouchers now? Bc we can see that APS has no regard for those families who invest in having a strong local school and close ties to their immediate community.

LOL. APS has been tearing apart school communities for a long time now. You just never noticed (or didn’t care) because it didn’t affect you. Anyway, welcome to the club!

I noticed and I cared, but to be frank I have to earn an income and take a rest in between APS’s triennial efforts to destroy my neighborhood.

OMG relax! You will have to go to the neighboring lily white rich kid school. OH NO. "destroying my neighborhood" you are ridiculous.

They should stop asking for public comments on school boundaries. No one WANTS to move around, and yes it's hard for the kids in bridge years (like 5th) but honestly, they have to do it sometimes. Arlington is a small county, I promise you know people at your neighboring schools and they are not all terrible and going to "destroy" your community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we expect support for school choice and vouchers now? Bc we can see that APS has no regard for those families who invest in having a strong local school and close ties to their immediate community.

LOL. APS has been tearing apart school communities for a long time now. You just never noticed (or didn’t care) because it didn’t affect you. Anyway, welcome to the club!

I noticed and I cared, but to be frank I have to earn an income and take a rest in between APS’s triennial efforts to destroy my neighborhood.

This is so absurd. Really. Cringe-level of hysteria. Your planning unit stays together so your immediate neighborhood is not "destroyed". You will join a new school community and it will really be fine. I have had to move schools. You might end up liking the new one better. I did. And if you don't like it better, your life will go on and all the people from your old school community will still be right there for you to complain with!

[Anonymous]

Is there another elementary school that has had 3 pedestrian deaths within 2 blocks of tbe school in the last decade? Nottingham isn’t set up for the kind of traffic influx they would need. It can’t even handle the current traffic, where most people walk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there another elementary school that has had 3 pedestrian deaths within 2 blocks of tbe school in the last decade? Nottingham isn’t set up for the kind of traffic influx they would need. It can’t even handle the current traffic, where most people walk.

Look, you need to turn against each other. One of Discovery, Nottingham, and Tuckahoe is going to go. Seems to me APS picked Nottingham because it’s in the middle. You are going to have to show that closing Discovery or Tuckahoe would be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the idea of having a school they can move kids into to renovate another. Many of the schools are in desperate need of renovations which are impossible to complete when kids are in the building.

OMG- how much more are they going to pay me as a teacher

1 to move all my stuff to the holding school and back and
2 to pay for the EZPASS on 66 and 495 that just added to my commute?

I know none of this really matters to anyone be me and my family, I’m aware my needs are small. Just know that whenever the school move happens, it sounds like a great year to transfer to FCPS!!!!

Where do you live and work now? I can't picture how 66 and 495 would be added to your commute if you moved temporarily to Nottingham.

[Anonymous]

As an unaffected observer who has been on the losing end of a couple of other APS decisions over the last few years, I would share (1) this seems like a reasonable approach to a real need, and (2) my experience has been that despite those suboptimal decisions my kids and their school/broader communities have been fine. I hope those affected by the next round of adjustments have the same experience. I also hope all the additional stop signs and markings on Little Falls will allay traffic concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think that this is only going to be used to renovate north Arlington schools. It's not going to be used for Abington/Hoffman -Boston/Oakridge/Drew because it's just too far away and parents can't get to their kids.

+1. Agree that this will be used for only the North Arlington schools that need renovating. As a PP stated Jamestown and Taylor are at the top of that.

Taylor was closed for two weeks last year because of electrical and HVAC issues. I wonder if the extent of the problem is such that it is next on docket to be renovated?

I'm thinking it is. Jamestown's HVAC is in the same boat. Both school's are from the 1950's and there hasn't been an opportunity to put the time/effort needed to upgrade these schools so they can keep functioning.

[Anonymous]

Did they say in the meeting if they will limit the boundary changes to Tuckahoe/Discovery? It would make sense to tweak Cardinal's boundaries to send the south of Langston Tuckahoe/Nottingham planning units that are in Cardinal's walk zone there, and redirect Cardinal's west/SW bussed planning units to Tuckahoe/Ashlawn (especially with the new housing development on the Rouse estate that will further crowd Cardinal). Seems like good timing, but probably more trouble than they want to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think that this is only going to be used to renovate north Arlington schools. It's not going to be used for Abington/Hoffman -Boston/Oakridge/Drew because it's just too far away and parents can't get to their kids.

+1. Agree that this will be used for only the North Arlington schools that need renovating. As a PP stated Jamestown and Taylor are at the top of that.

Taylor was closed for two weeks last year because of electrical and HVAC issues. I wonder if the extent of the problem is such that it is next on docket to be renovated?

I'm thinking it is. Jamestown's HVAC is in the same boat. Both school's are from the 1950's and there hasn't been an opportunity to put the time/effort needed to upgrade these schools so they can keep functioning.

Except this move pushes a bunch of Discovery kids to Taylor. So are they then going to renovate Taylor and swing those kids to Nottingham?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t they looking more seriously at building the S Arlington elementary? They report and presentation yesterday said it was going to be needed but basically that “it’s hard” because the site is county owned. If the demand is there for Virginia Highlands, let’s invest in S Arlington and give them the elementary they need, rather than creating a bandaid solution by shutting down Nottingham, even though the report acknowledges it may need to be reopened as a neighborhood school. IMHO it just seems like the school board doesn’t want to work with the county. A cynical part of me wonders if this is a play to get N Arlingotn parents to push for investment in S Arlington (… and it might work)

If we give them permission to invest in South Arlington, do you think they’ll stop trying to destroy active and invested school communities in the North? There other ways to achieve “equity” besides making everyone’s experience equally awful. We could, you know, raise the bar.

Oh my.

Yeah. North Arlington has to give the SB and the County permission to invest in south Arlington. At least someone finally actually stated it outright!

I was being snarky. I don’t believe in this zero sum, “I was hazed so you should be too game” we keep pretending we have to engage in. We spend way too much money on this to be pretending we are strapped and have to close schools for “equity” or whatever.

Give the South what it needs to succeed for crying out loud. If you need my “permission” to spend my taxpayer CIP dollars on it, you have it. There you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think that this is only going to be used to renovate north Arlington schools. It's not going to be used for Abington/Hoffman -Boston/Oakridge/Drew because it's just too far away and parents can't get to their kids.

+1. Agree that this will be used for only the North Arlington schools that need renovating. As a PP stated Jamestown and Taylor are at the top of that.

Taylor was closed for two weeks last year because of electrical and HVAC issues. I wonder if the extent of the problem is such that it is next on docket to be renovated?

I'm thinking it is. Jamestown's HVAC is in the same boat. Both school's are from the 1950's and there hasn't been an opportunity to put the time/effort needed to upgrade these schools so they can keep functioning.

Except this move pushes a bunch of Discovery kids to Taylor. So are they then going to renovate Taylor and swing those kids to Nottingham?

It’s gotta be Jamestown. They are the only school that escapes this fiasco unscathed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:County projecting in 5 years we will have a surplus of over 1,000 elementary seats. That sounds...optimistic.

Based on what I wonder. There has been a lot of turnover and lots of new kids in the neighborhood. Pandemic dip was a blip driven by desperate parents who could afford alternatives. We’re coming back.

There’s absolutely no facts/data to support this one way or the other. It’s 1,000 kids going to private school and APS doesn’t know or care to know if they are ever coming back. And if they leave for good, what does that mean for other families in the neighborhood when it’s normal to send your kids to private schools?

I have zero confidence in APS planning/projections. I understand that as a member of the public school community we need to every once in a while deal with these adjustments. APS has convinced me that they are totally incompetent at predicting seats so why should we all run around like crazy people on an annual basis trying to fill seats that APS couldn’t accurately predict?

They need better, outside data before I believe that these moves actually need to be made. They have wasted our money long enough on poor planning and annual neighborhood fights over boundaries.