APS DHMS walk zone nuclear option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

I don’t see how recreating the Rosslyn Island to Williamsburg is fine but moving immersion to Williamsburg is a nonstarter. It’s the exact same issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

Yes this is the answer. Rosslyn and possibly the rest of Innovation ES to WMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

I don’t see how recreating the Rosslyn Island to Williamsburg is fine but moving immersion to Williamsburg is a nonstarter. It’s the exact same issues.

The majority of immersion students live in the zone for Gunston. That's much farther from Williamsburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

I don’t see how recreating the Rosslyn Island to Williamsburg is fine but moving immersion to Williamsburg is a nonstarter. It’s the exact same issues.

The majority of immersion students live in the zone for Gunston. That's much farther from Williamsburg.

+1. And the Rosslyn students go to Yorktown. Why send them to Hamm first? Include them in the WMS community as those students will be their peers at Yorktown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not know why no one wants to go to WMS. It’s a great middle school. Fabulous teachers.

Maybe because I remember this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/07/08/parents-are-alarmed-by-an-unsettling-new-fad-in-middle-schools-oral-sex/4130d1ef-5e0f-4078-99ec-faa75fe294c5/

But generally speaking, WMS is richer, whiter and meaner than Hamm and I’d like my children to avoid the Washington Golf crowd as long as I can.

This article is literally from 1999. I myself was in middle school when this came out. I’m not saying this isn’t an issue in middle schools but I highly doubt this has any effect on the school’s current reputation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved elementary schools recently with the redistributing. Our elementary school feeds to the same middle school (Hamm) but splits for high school. It would be nice for some continuity. Also, would be nice if my DS doesn’t have to change schools again. It’s probably not possible to prevent kids who have had to change schools recently due to redistributing from having to do it again in middle school, but it would be nice. Luckily the options are all acceptable, but its hard to roll with the changes every few years.

Many kids in Arlington split at some point and it's good for them. There is no way for kids not to split in our County. It's genuinely not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not know why no one wants to go to WMS. It’s a great middle school. Fabulous teachers.

Maybe because I remember this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/07/08/parents-are-alarmed-by-an-unsettling-new-fad-in-middle-schools-oral-sex/4130d1ef-5e0f-4078-99ec-faa75fe294c5/

But generally speaking, WMS is richer, whiter and meaner than Hamm and I’d like my children to avoid the Washington Golf crowd as long as I can.

Aren’t the Washington Golf families all in private by MS and def by HS?

Regardless, this is one of the sillier and self-absorbed posts that I’ve seen in a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m interested in other ways to relieve Gunston that don’t involve busing my kid to Williamsburg. And I understand that things may not work in my favor, but I want to be honest and open about trying other solutions that could work.

If I’m looking at the documents correctly, moving Immersion immediately solves Gunston’s overcrowding, correct? Sticking it at Kenmore (which has space but not enough for all of Immersion) means that some Kenmore kids need to go to other middle schools which creates this cascade effect, correct?

We need to not just say “don’t bus my kid when he can walk” but also “here’s what you can do instead.”

I also think high school alignment is an issue here.

If my child has to be bused, I can live with it as long as our planning units are not the only ones moved and he’s isolated from the majority of Taylor. If they’re going to split us up, they need to move a critical mass.

It looks like they could move Immersion to Williamsburg, tweak a few units with alignment issues, and then be done. No walk zones broken. Almost everyone moved with the school when Key moved despite dire warnings otherwise. People who are dedicated to the program will travel for it.

This is a dumb plan and I hope people speak out against this as an idea. It would kill the immersion program.

That’s exactly what you said about the Key move.

Key moved to a Central part of the county in an area with spanish speakers.

Do you remember the rhetoric? The move would destroy the program, families wouldn’t be able to move to the new building so the new neighborhood school would be crowded anyway, etc etc.

Williamsburg is a bad choice for location, but no one wants to be moved there. Why should neighborhood kids get moved instead of an option program that is optional?

Yes I remember the rhetoric. It was stupid because Key moved to a central part of the county in an area with spanish speakers, which is why the program is still doing fine.

Williamsburg is not in a central part of the County and is not near spanish speakers.

I don't agree no one wants to get moved to Williamsburg either. All the Tuckahoe units and Nottingham unit zoned to Swanson are moving and most people I talk to have some mixed feelings but get it. (I'm in one. My child could walk to Swanson and will instead ride a bus to Williamsburg. The earth will keep spinning.) Dear Hamm people. You're not special. Get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not know why no one wants to go to WMS. It’s a great middle school. Fabulous teachers.

Maybe because I remember this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/07/08/parents-are-alarmed-by-an-unsettling-new-fad-in-middle-schools-oral-sex/4130d1ef-5e0f-4078-99ec-faa75fe294c5/

But generally speaking, WMS is richer, whiter and meaner than Hamm and I’d like my children to avoid the Washington Golf crowd as long as I can.

An article from 24 years ago. I can see why you’d be concerned. . I can promise you that the WMS crowd is not one hit snootier than the Taylor/Hamm crowd. Cut from the very same cloth.

Right???? This is what I find hilarious. It's the same people!!! The lack of self-awareness is completely astounding.

You're going to bring your positive Hamm energy to Williamsburg though and show them how it's done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

I don’t see how recreating the Rosslyn Island to Williamsburg is fine but moving immersion to Williamsburg is a nonstarter. It’s the exact same issues.

The majority of immersion students live in the zone for Gunston. That's much farther from Williamsburg.

+1. And the Rosslyn students go to Yorktown. Why send them to Hamm first? Include them in the WMS community as those students will be their peers at Yorktown.

The students in the Hamm walk one marked to be moved ALSO go to Yorktown, so that’s not a very convincing argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t they just let the Hamm walk zone stay at Hamm and bus everyone else to Williamsburg? Wouldn’t this keep everyone happy?

Yes. And it's consistent with APS diversity goals.

I don’t see how recreating the Rosslyn Island to Williamsburg is fine but moving immersion to Williamsburg is a nonstarter. It’s the exact same issues.

The majority of immersion students live in the zone for Gunston. That's much farther from Williamsburg.

+1. And the Rosslyn students go to Yorktown. Why send them to Hamm first? Include them in the WMS community as those students will be their peers at Yorktown.

The students in the Hamm walk one marked to be moved ALSO go to Yorktown, so that’s not a very convincing argument.

We understand. But as you said, the Hamm kids are in a WALK zone. So let them walk. The Rosslyn kids can’t walk anywhere. They are on a bus either way. We need to be more efficient.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry but Hamm people getting mad about going to Williamsburg kinda reminds me of Nottingham people getting mad about going to Jamestown or Discovery.

There’s really no pleasing some people.

[Anonymous]

Why did someone start this thread today? Has something happened since the pre-CIP report? Or do we think OP just found out about the pre-CIP report?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did someone start this thread today? Has something happened since the pre-CIP report? Or do we think OP just found out about the pre-CIP report?

APS sent out an email late yesterday publicizing upcoming community meetings. Probably some people missed the last email about this.

Or people got bored of arguing about Nottingham.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do not know why no one wants to go to WMS. It’s a great middle school. Fabulous teachers.

Maybe because I remember this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/07/08/parents-are-alarmed-by-an-unsettling-new-fad-in-middle-schools-oral-sex/4130d1ef-5e0f-4078-99ec-faa75fe294c5/

But generally speaking, WMS is richer, whiter and meaner than Hamm and I’d like my children to avoid the Washington Golf crowd as long as I can.

An article from 24 years ago. I can see why you’d be concerned. . I can promise you that the WMS crowd is not one hit snootier than the Taylor/Hamm crowd. Cut from the very same cloth.

Right???? This is what I find hilarious. It's the same people!!! The lack of self-awareness is completely astounding.

You're going to bring your positive Hamm energy to Williamsburg though and show them how it's done.

Haha! Yes. As if the Taylor/Hamm scene is SO much more salt of the earth. Same difference honestly. Believe me, you will fit right in at WMS.