APS - "Instructional Focus" for new high school?

[Anonymous]

It finally feels like we're getting somewhere.

[Anonymous]

It seems to me that putting the new high school at any of the Drew, Hoffman-Boston, or Henry sites and moving the displaced elementary seats to Reed would be best in the long run. All of these choices have gives and takes, but if the objections to the Ed Center plan (which I share) are largely based on resistance to 3500 kids on one site sharing the same fields/pool, it seems that those concerns would be similar for using the Wakefield, Kenmore, or Gunston sites. Acknowledging the tiering system is meant to convey relative complexity and phased construction, isn't it best to think long term here and deal with a slightly more painful process to get a better and more sustainable outcome?

What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me that putting the new high school at any of the Drew, Hoffman-Boston, or Henry sites and moving the displaced elementary seats to Reed would be best in the long run. All of these choices have gives and takes, but if the objections to the Ed Center plan (which I share) are largely based on resistance to 3500 kids on one site sharing the same fields/pool, it seems that those concerns would be similar for using the Wakefield, Kenmore, or Gunston sites. Acknowledging the tiering system is meant to convey relative complexity and phased construction, isn't it best to think long term here and deal with a slightly more painful process to get a better and more sustainable outcome?

What am I missing?

The problem with shifting the displaced ES seats to Reed is that 1) Reed is already needed to handle all the kids in that neighborhood that are overcrowding McKinley and 2) S. Arlington is also running out of ES space so they need more ES space in that part of the county. Hoffman-Boston is relatively small so maybe they can combine that with the new Drew neighborhood school? Regardless, you are back into the sequencing problem where you have to build an ES before you can even start on the HS seats and so it's hard to see how they could manage to get the HS seats online in time. The MS sites get around that problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me that putting the new high school at any of the Drew, Hoffman-Boston, or Henry sites and moving the displaced elementary seats to Reed would be best in the long run. All of these choices have gives and takes, but if the objections to the Ed Center plan (which I share) are largely based on resistance to 3500 kids on one site sharing the same fields/pool, it seems that those concerns would be similar for using the Wakefield, Kenmore, or Gunston sites. Acknowledging the tiering system is meant to convey relative complexity and phased construction, isn't it best to think long term here and deal with a slightly more painful process to get a better and more sustainable outcome?

What am I missing?

The problem with shifting the displaced ES seats to Reed is that 1) Reed is already needed to handle all the kids in that neighborhood that are overcrowding McKinley and 2) S. Arlington is also running out of ES space so they need more ES space in that part of the county. Hoffman-Boston is relatively small so maybe they can combine that with the new Drew neighborhood school? Regardless, you are back into the sequencing problem where you have to build an ES before you can even start on the HS seats and so it's hard to see how they could manage to get the HS seats online in time. The MS sites get around that problem.

Got it. You're right about South Arl, I believe Oakridge is also pretty overcrowded and some of their students are destined for the new Drew as well. My understanding from reading this board is that some of the North Arlington elementaries are under-capacity, specifically, Nottingham, Discovery, Barrett, Ashlawn, and Jamestown (even if not by very much). I have read enough to know that there would be a ginormus uproar over further adjustment to McKinley/Tuckahoe/whatever boundaries but if we could move past the individual families being rightly annoyed AF, perhaps there is room for more kids such than then Reed could take some more from South Arl and the rest could wind up at Drew. Also, I would expect that they are going to try to encourage more kids into the Montessori program when it moves to Henry. Currently it's only part of Drew and I think it's probably around 400 kids or so? Henry had 550 students or so, so there is room for more.

I get that the sequencing problem is a real challenge and the thoughts above tend to be on the margins. It just seems if there is a way to deal with it, the outcome will be better long-term.

[Anonymous]

It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

[Anonymous]

By the time Reed opens, the students displaced by the Tuckahoe/McKinley debacle will be in middle school or old enough to be grandfathered. That neighborhood would not care if they were redistricted to Reed as walkers instead of staying at an overcrowded school with no field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

That Kenmore site is hugely inconvenient. It may be in the middle, but it's at the western edge of the county. OTOH Wakefield is even more inconvenient, and people deal with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

That Kenmore site is hugely inconvenient. It may be in the middle, but it's at the western edge of the county. OTOH Wakefield is even more inconvenient, and people deal with that.

However, the Kenmore site is the biggest (32 acres), is flat, and has fewer issues than just about any other property on the table. Sure, it'd be great to have it further east, but we have to work with what we have. Even if Kenmore isn't selected this time around for a new school, it's going to happen there eventually. It's just too good to turn down.

[Anonymous]

Given the options I still feel like the kenmore site is our best option for a high school and a land swap with vhc for the nearby clinic site would provide a good relocated middle school parcel.

This is what many have been pushing for all along, and I hope it's doable. Some of the other options presented don't provide nearly enough land for a fourth comprehensive high school, which is what we need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

That Kenmore site is hugely inconvenient. It may be in the middle, but it's at the western edge of the county. OTOH Wakefield is even more inconvenient, and people deal with that.

However, the Kenmore site is the biggest (32 acres), is flat, and has fewer issues than just about any other property on the table. Sure, it'd be great to have it further east, but we have to work with what we have. Even if Kenmore isn't selected this time around for a new school, it's going to happen there eventually. It's just too good to turn down.

PP here, and I'm also the one who posted about using the elementary sites. I'm coming around to the idea of Kenmore as the best option. It also seems sensible from a framing perspective. Plan to make it an "option" high school now, but preserve flexibility to move the middle school to the VHC parcel if in fact a comprehensive high school is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the options I still feel like the kenmore site is our best option for a high school and a land swap with vhc for the nearby clinic site would provide a good relocated middle school parcel.

This is what many have been pushing for all along, and I hope it's doable. Some of the other options presented don't provide nearly enough land for a fourth comprehensive high school, which is what we need.

Agreed. When APS was holding the CIP meetings, the idea of a HS at Kenmore was presented and received a lot of positive feedback in the room. Then, it disappeared. I'm glad to see the idea has resurfaced and I hope that is a good sign.

[Anonymous]

anyone who is supportive of a 4th comprehensive high school should support Kenmore, and building it in such a way that it can easily become 'comprehensive.' I've carefully reviewed the report, and I think that it is clearly the site with the most acreage.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised the Campbell elementary site isn't showing up in the report on options. Isn't it nearly 10 acres?
There are several sites that are discussed that are smaller. Campbell has such a tiny number of students taking up a large amount of land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

That Kenmore site is hugely inconvenient. It may be in the middle, but it's at the western edge of the county. OTOH Wakefield is even more inconvenient, and people deal with that.

However, the Kenmore site is the biggest (32 acres), is flat, and has fewer issues than just about any other property on the table. Sure, it'd be great to have it further east, but we have to work with what we have. Even if Kenmore isn't selected this time around for a new school, it's going to happen there eventually. It's just too good to turn down.

PP here, and I'm also the one who posted about using the elementary sites. I'm coming around to the idea of Kenmore as the best option. It also seems sensible from a framing perspective. Plan to make it an "option" high school now, but preserve flexibility to move the middle school to the VHC parcel if in fact a comprehensive high school is needed.

Just trying to wrap my head around the logistics. So, we build a 1300 seat "choice" school say, over the parking lot and underground the parking now, leaving the MS intact? Then, in a future CIP, we convert the 1300 seat HS to a comprehensive one, possibly by connecting the new building to the old MS, and build a new MS on the VHC site? Am I on the right track? I like this. I wonder what the boundary will look like, though, given the location so far to the west. It would have to go pretty far north and east.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a bit crazy to put another comprehensive HS north of 50 b/c that will make for crazy boundaries again. I really hope they consider the Kenmore site b/c it's centrally located and can help relieve crowding in the middle of the county. Also, it can end up pulling from N & S, like WL does right now.

As far as the ES sites, I can see them moving ATS to Reed, but it wouldn't make sense to displace kids from the schools listed above unless the SB tossed out ALL ES boundaries and started from scratch. They aren't going to do that.

That Kenmore site is hugely inconvenient. It may be in the middle, but it's at the western edge of the county. OTOH Wakefield is even more inconvenient, and people deal with that.

However, the Kenmore site is the biggest (32 acres), is flat, and has fewer issues than just about any other property on the table. Sure, it'd be great to have it further east, but we have to work with what we have. Even if Kenmore isn't selected this time around for a new school, it's going to happen there eventually. It's just too good to turn down.

PP here, and I'm also the one who posted about using the elementary sites. I'm coming around to the idea of Kenmore as the best option. It also seems sensible from a framing perspective. Plan to make it an "option" high school now, but preserve flexibility to move the middle school to the VHC parcel if in fact a comprehensive high school is needed.

Just trying to wrap my head around the logistics. So, we build a 1300 seat "choice" school say, over the parking lot and underground the parking now, leaving the MS intact? Then, in a future CIP, we convert the 1300 seat HS to a comprehensive one, possibly by connecting the new building to the old MS, and build a new MS on the VHC site? Am I on the right track? I like this. I wonder what the boundary will look like, though, given the location so far to the west. It would have to go pretty far north and east.

I guess so? I'm the PP but do not appear to be the most knowledgeable on this thread, so I'm sure others weigh in. As to boundaries, Kenmore is attractive because it could pull students from north and south, all along the western part of the county as you say. Seems like that could be a nice demographic balance. I'm not sure what it would do to Wakefield though. Presumably it would take SW located students from Wakefield and Wakefield would then have the SE students and potentially also gain some students to the north of 50 to round out its numbers. So it seems like it could be good for the demographics of both schools, though I don't have much of an idea how it would actually shake out with real numbers. I also shudder to think of the boundary fights to send students currently zoned for Yorktown to a new school south of 50.