APS Discovery elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - the school is beautiful on the inside. As in the place is so beautiful that you wonder how a county could justify spending so much on a school while other 40-50 year old school buildings in the county are showing their age. Also note that Discovery is a no homework school.

Are you serious? It's 22207.

And you know, that's OK. The vast majority of property tax revenue comes from this zip code. It's about time the people who pay the taxes get the benefits--rather than giving money away for stupid projects like streetcars and affordable housing.

So, OP, does this make you want to move to the Discovery zone?

There are $680K shacks beside those $2.5M mansions so it's possible.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow - the school is beautiful on the inside. As in the place is so beautiful that you wonder how a county could justify spending so much on a school while other 40-50 year old school buildings in the county are showing their age. Also note that Discovery is a no homework school.

Are you serious? It's 22207.

And you know, that's OK. The vast majority of property tax revenue comes from this zip code. It's about time the people who pay the taxes get the benefits--rather than giving money away for stupid projects like streetcars and affordable housing.

So, OP, does this make you want to move to the Discovery zone?

There are $680K shacks beside those $2.5M mansions so it's possible.....

Add about $100,000 to that. The least expensive home on the market in this school zone is $749,900 and it only has 2 bedrooms. Either way, if some of these posters do actually live in this neighborhood, which I really do doubt, they are not doing it any favors.

[Anonymous]

My kids are at Discovery. Yes, it's a new school. The facility is beautiful. There have definitely been some growing pains associated with 20+ teachers from all different places coming together under a new principal and new AP making policies, creating a clear vision, etc., while hitting the ground running with very little summer prep time due to the facility delays.
I think the quality of the teaching is individual to the teacher- I know as a parent I am not going to be thrilled/love every teacher my kids have every year. That's just not how the world works. But overall I've been satisfied, and my kids are happy and enjoy school. Whenever we've had issues (either academic or socio/emotional) I feel the teachers and admin have been responsive and helped.
I feel that Discovery will be much stronger next year as they can take what they've learned this year and use it to improve policies and processes going forward. A few families did leave for Nottingham, so I heard, but honestly most parents I know have been happy, but possibly not THRILLED, with their kid's experience this year.
They will have more students next year as this year the 5th grade was a class short because 5th graders could elect to stay at their original schools and some did that. Same with younger siblings who stayed with older siblings and now have to come to Discovery next year. We'll see how the school grows in the coming years.
Our neighborhood has MANY kids and we have about 25 kids at the bus stop. This varies by street but there is not a lack of students anywhere near me.

Overall, we've been happy and I've found the families much more down to earth than I expected based on reading DCUM before moving here. The PTA is active but I'm only marginally involved (not a leadership role, it's just not my thing). I volunteer to help at most events in a specific capacity and that works best for me.

[Anonymous]

As soon as you point out sock puppet, bennaton ad, anti diversity posters BS- they always seem to fade...away...
Who wants to put money that they don't live Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As soon as you point out sock puppet, bennaton ad, anti diversity posters BS- they always seem to fade...away...
Who wants to put money that they don't live Arlington?

Now they've moved over to the APS seats crisis thread, arguing that people living in $1.5 million houses are entitled to traditional schooling but that APS should move to shifts for kids living in affordable housing, so they can attend school during off-hours. I guess that'll show 'em.

[Anonymous]

You can find a less expensive house in that zone, but you have to ask yourself how you will feel being the "ppor" one in an 800K house. When your kid's friends are all vacationing once a month together with their other $2M house friends, how will your kid feel? Nottingham is much more down to earth and not that far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not diverse, but that obviously appeals to many people in Arlington.

PP, I'm sorry you got priced out of Discovery (or Arlington), but there's no need to lash out. I don't think most people seek diversity in schools in the first place -- it's just not a major criterion. I'm sure you feel smug in suggesting that a lack of diversity "appeals to many people in Arlington" but you're just being offensive. I mean, you wouldn't say the lack of diversity schools in SE DC "appeal to people in Anacostia" would you?

Sorry you're having a rough and angry morning. Just telling it like it is. When people use terms like FARMs, it bothers me. I am Latino, and I live in Arlngton fwiw.

You're the one lashing out, chica. I think it's you who's angry. I have the day off. I'm sitting with my coffee and surfing the web. I'm in a great mood.

Why would FARMS bother you? It's technical jargon -- means "Free and Reduced Meals." It's literally a demographic category used to help tabulate this "diversity" you seem to think is virtuous.

It's also a socially acceptable way for people to express their fears. Fear of the other, fear of diversity. In my view, sheltering kids, whether on purpose or incidentally, is not a good idea. The Supreme Court has praised the virtues of diversity in education. The case is closed. That's the future, and I think that all will be better served to embrace it. YMMV.

I have no problem with diversity, but when it came time to choose schools for kids, it was a third-tier issue. I was more concerned with quality of teachers, class size, extracurricular programming, PTA involvement, etc. It wasn't until way down the list that I got too "must be a Bennetton ad."

Benetton ad? Quite the dated example.

But it's the perfect example. First of all, it's predominately white liberals who prattle on about diversity. Ask Latinos or blacks or Asians and they generally prefer to stick together -- there are even movements for all-black schools based on the presumption that it will achieve better performance. So, in a place like Arlington it's usually white progressives that declare "diversity" as a virtue. But it's funny because what they really want isn't diversity -- rather just a sanitized version of their own lives. They want skin color diversity but they really cannot deal with the trappings that come with poverty such as discipline problems and low achievement. So they start fretting about the brown kid who has outbursts in school or who brings drugs or is lagging behind academically. They complain about the lack of parental involvement (because often there is only one parent or if there are two, they do shift work). The dog whistles here are demands for more differentiation (i.e., isolate their white children from these diverse elements WITHIN the school), complaints about only three families doing everything (although that's true even in the wealthiest schools, but whatever).

Been there, seen that. Repeatedly.

Oh, it's you again. Do you have an alert that goes off every time someone writes "diversity" you come in with the "Benetton" reference? Give it up. I don't think you even live in Arlington. You embarrass yourself.

Oh, honey. Bless your heart.

Another poster here tired of white liberals talking out of both sides of their mouths. They moved to South Arlington for "diversity", got it and now want to bitch and complain because of low test scores and concentrated poverty. They now want to "diversify" North Arlington schools, so they're not taking on the full burden of the FARMS environment they chose. And they criticize others who don't praise their holy grail of diversity, though they lament that they've been screwed by making life choices that put them in "diverse" areas. What the hell do they want? Oh, the fake Shangri-La that liberals often try to project on others that doesn't exist in reality. They want this awesome "diversity" with a SES whitewash- black and brown kids from monied families with no problems. Just "colored" enough to add some spice to the conversation- romanticize about world travels, Indian food all while speaking French, but not "colored" with "colored" problems (poverty, single-parent homes, marginal importance of education, etc...). That's all well and good, but we don't want that craziness up North.

Just stop with the sock-puppeting. You are the same person, posting the same shit, over and over and over again.

It's the same person. Everytime. Sometimes they walk their child to their "gem" of a N. arl neighborhood school. Sometimes they are living in south Arlington and don't want to hear other liberals complain over craft beers about the lack of diversity.
Pretty sure they neither live in Arlington, or have children.
They are mentally ill and need help.
perhaps we should ask Jeff to out them, so we can get them the help they so desperately need.

Make up your damn mind. Is it one person or multiple people?

(FTR, we're multiple posters).

In the future, if you make a case that there's a singular person posting, don't use the plural pronoun subsequently.

No, not mentally hill. Just holding up the mirror. Have seen the disillusionment of people who claimed to value diversity many, many times. They really have no idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As soon as you point out sock puppet, bennaton ad, anti diversity posters BS- they always seem to fade...away...
Who wants to put money that they don't live Arlington?

Honey, bless your heart. I live within walking distance of Marymount University.

I'm not anti-diversity. I merely say that it's not a major criteria for most people and I find the attacks on schools that lack diversity to be hypocritical, smug, and pointless. I also find the people who brag about how they value diversity in the abstract tend to be in for a rude awakening when they actually encounter it and have to wrestle with their cognitive dissonance. Evidently there's at least one other poster on this thread who's come to a similar conclusion.

Remember, one of the earliest pp's was all dismissive of the parents who send their kids to Discovery, presuming them all to be racist for doing so.

That's what I react to. Not diversity itself -- rather the sanctimony of those posters.

[Anonymous]

^^^ oh the sock puppetry...


I would call you sock monkey hence forth, but I really find sock monkeys charming. I shan't besmirch their good name with your BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ oh the sock puppetry...


I would call you sock monkey hence forth, but I really find sock monkeys charming. I shan't besmirch their good name with your BS.

Sorry to disappoint but it's not suck puppetry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ oh the sock puppetry...


I would call you sock monkey hence forth, but I really find sock monkeys charming. I shan't besmirch their good name with your BS.

Sorry to disappoint but it's not suck puppetry.

Suck puppetry, how apt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ oh the sock puppetry...


I would call you sock monkey hence forth, but I really find sock monkeys charming. I shan't besmirch their good name with your BS.

Sorry to disappoint but it's not suck puppetry.

Suck puppetry, how apt.

LOL!!!!

[Anonymous]

People, people...if you are lucky enough to live in that zone, yes, irs a great school.

[Anonymous]

It's just OK. Happier at Nottingham

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's just OK. Happier at Nottingham

Do you mean your kids were happier at Nottingham before being reassigned to Discovery?