APS - Did anyone go to any of the three "Walk Throughs" regarding the High School options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we're putting 1500 seats at the Arlington Tech campus. All of you ASF parents who are championing science education at the elementary school need to step it up and also make Arlington Tech an award-winning high school science program. If science is important for your kids, it should still be important even when it isn't being taught in your backyard. Calling Aneesh Chopra!

Do they really believe 1500 students will sign up to go to this school? They are really dreaming. Mark my words, this won't alleviate the overcrowding that the SB thinks. They are just taking the easiest way out (like always). I have yet to see them plan anything well. Even the smallest projects seem to be fuck ups. How can they be so off about McKinley?

Why is it that the SB is only recently being told (like 2 weeks ago) that the planning process etc. takes more than a few years out to build a 4th comprehensive HS? Like no shit. Are they really this incompetent? Or merely apathetic b/c there's no opposition. I thought I read in ArlNow that they can't even find viable Republican candidates. I swear if they can fix the school issue, all of the Republican candidates can have my vote going forward.

Also, why haven't they even approached the CB about the possibility of putting a school on the VHC parcel, should the county end up doing the land swap?

Finally, I suggested earlier that the SB hire urban planners. Someone told me that all counties have them. Who the hell are Arlington's city planners? I have never seen such a messed up system. If we have some, we need to fire them and start over.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I actually don't understand the board docs option D thing. The 1300 HS seats are going to the Ed Center AND they are adding 600 seats to Career Center? Or, they are putting 600 seats at Ed Center and a total of 1300 (or 1500) seats at the Career Center? Comparing slides 3 and 5 is very confusing.

They will put 600 seats at the Ed Center. They will put 700 seats at the Career Center, in addition to the 800 seat expansion already planned for Arlington Tech.

So it's 1300 more seats total but the Career Center will have a 1500 seat HS, part of which will be Arlington Tech? or all of it? They haven't said what those seats will be.

It also says they will "renovate" the Ed Center, so it won't be a new building.

If that's the case, seems like they actually mostly chose option B, no? Realistically, you'll have one HS at that site and it will be 1500 students. And WL will get bigger by 600 seats but will not have any gimmicky "9th grade academy" or whatever. I don't see another way to read this.

They could still decide to put all the 9th graders in the renovated Ed Center. I was at a CCPTA meeting where there was some discussion of what this hybrid option meant and they did say if the Ed Center was renovated they'd add cafeteria space there. But still not clear was these seats would be -- all of 9th grade? IB students only (11-12th grade)?

This also lets the school board take the easy way out and not deal with boundary changes for HS. Both seat additions are too small to be 'neighborhood' schools.

This thought crossed my mind as well.

This is exactly what is going on. The SB is trying to "choice" their way out of this problem, because they are too chickenshit to deal with redrawing boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually don't understand the board docs option D thing. The 1300 HS seats are going to the Ed Center AND they are adding 600 seats to Career Center? Or, they are putting 600 seats at Ed Center and a total of 1300 (or 1500) seats at the Career Center? Comparing slides 3 and 5 is very confusing.

They will put 600 seats at the Ed Center. They will put 700 seats at the Career Center, in addition to the 800 seat expansion already planned for Arlington Tech.

So it's 1300 more seats total but the Career Center will have a 1500 seat HS, part of which will be Arlington Tech? or all of it? They haven't said what those seats will be.

It also says they will "renovate" the Ed Center, so it won't be a new building.

If that's the case, seems like they actually mostly chose option B, no? Realistically, you'll have one HS at that site and it will be 1500 students. And WL will get bigger by 600 seats but will not have any gimmicky "9th grade academy" or whatever. I don't see another way to read this.

They could still decide to put all the 9th graders in the renovated Ed Center. I was at a CCPTA meeting where there was some discussion of what this hybrid option meant and they did say if the Ed Center was renovated they'd add cafeteria space there. But still not clear was these seats would be -- all of 9th grade? IB students only (11-12th grade)?

This also lets the school board take the easy way out and not deal with boundary changes for HS. Both seat additions are too small to be 'neighborhood' schools.

This thought crossed my mind as well.

This is exactly what is going on. The SB is trying to "choice" their way out of this problem, because they are too chickenshit to deal with redrawing boundaries.

Yup. They are such cowards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They could still decide to put all the 9th graders in the renovated Ed Center. I was at a CCPTA meeting where there was some discussion of what this hybrid option meant and they did say if the Ed Center was renovated they'd add cafeteria space there. But still not clear was these seats would be -- all of 9th grade? IB students only (11-12th grade)?

This also lets the school board take the easy way out and not deal with boundary changes for HS. Both seat additions are too small to be 'neighborhood' schools.

This thought crossed my mind as well.

This is exactly what is going on. The SB is trying to "choice" their way out of this problem, because they are too chickenshit to deal with redrawing boundaries.

Yup. They are such cowards.

or they're just politicians being politicians, where SB is merely a stepping stone to CB, so why redraw boundaries and lose voters when they can simply push the narrative that it's the CB that's ultimately responsible for creating the north-south divide/segregation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

They could still decide to put all the 9th graders in the renovated Ed Center. I was at a CCPTA meeting where there was some discussion of what this hybrid option meant and they did say if the Ed Center was renovated they'd add cafeteria space there. But still not clear was these seats would be -- all of 9th grade? IB students only (11-12th grade)?

This also lets the school board take the easy way out and not deal with boundary changes for HS. Both seat additions are too small to be 'neighborhood' schools.

This thought crossed my mind as well.

This is exactly what is going on. The SB is trying to "choice" their way out of this problem, because they are too chickenshit to deal with redrawing boundaries.

Yup. They are such cowards.

or they're just politicians being politicians, where SB is merely a stepping stone to CB, so why redraw boundaries and lose voters when they can simply push the narrative that it's the CB that's ultimately responsible for creating the north-south divide/segregation.

Isn't all the the [crappy] above?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:In a few years all high school students will be taking classes online in Arlington and high school will look very different for all students.

#personalizedlearning
#bestschoolsysteminamerica(not)

Based on my DC's experience with online language, this would be a complete nightmare...

Of course it will be, but they're not going to have any other option because they've kicked the can for too long and the kids are here. Can't fit 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack, so online courses and shifts it is. Unreal. And that they would try to spin it as if it's anything other than a complete failure is beyond reason.

So, what do you do? It doesn't seem like anything other than massive protests (more than just matching shirts) will accomplish anything.

I don't know what we'll do and I am hoping that a lot of people move away. I don't think that's realistic, though. We are here b/c the schools *are* good ( i LOVE our elementary), we like being able to walk instead of drive for a lot of trips and the commute means we get to spend time with our family instead of other commuters stuck in traffic. I saw a new community out in LC a few weeks back that looks charming, but I realized we'd never see our kids until the weekend b/c we'd be in traffic for hours and hours a week. I wish we could afford private.

It's not realistic to "hope for people to move away". If ANY member of the SB or CB really, even secretly, thinks that or hopes for that they should be ashamed. Some will move, but not the bulk. Plus, Arlington is attracting people from all over and building, building, building. More density. More students.

I just recently chatted with a mom on a playground, fresh from Ulan Bator. She had 3 kids under 5, and was pregnant! She is reuniting here with some friends from home, who all have similar aged kids, all ready to enter the schools in 1-5 years.

APS won't know what hit them!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote: The problem is that the parents who actually put in the time and effort to affect change are learning that all of their efforts are in vain. That's the problem.

The other, complementary problem is that the NVD backers got what they wanted from her (the Stratford building) and aren't going to push her until there's something else they want. Otherwise, they fall back on "you can't make everyone happy" and "no solution is perfect."

Are these not WL parents?

Some. It's easier to figure them out by ES, though (Taylor & Tuckahoe).

Tuckahoe? But they won't even be in the new middle school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually don't understand the board docs option D thing. The 1300 HS seats are going to the Ed Center AND they are adding 600 seats to Career Center? Or, they are putting 600 seats at Ed Center and a total of 1300 (or 1500) seats at the Career Center? Comparing slides 3 and 5 is very confusing.

They will put 600 seats at the Ed Center. They will put 700 seats at the Career Center, in addition to the 800 seat expansion already planned for Arlington Tech.

So it's 1300 more seats total but the Career Center will have a 1500 seat HS, part of which will be Arlington Tech? or all of it? They haven't said what those seats will be.

It also says they will "renovate" the Ed Center, so it won't be a new building.

But is the 800 seat expansion already including the 300 or so expansion that they are planning for the immediate future? The neighborhood would like to know, how many kids exactly they are planning to cram into the career center location, when all is said and done, because the numbers do look now as if it is a FULL HIGH SCHOOL anyways, just without the full high school designation and/or infrastructure! And that would suck. Also, if they are putting that many kids in the career center site, the CC cannot ALSO house all the other programs currently there, and shouldn't have the Montessori elementary with busses from the entire county on the same site as well. Again, total lack of sensible planning on display.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually don't understand the board docs option D thing. The 1300 HS seats are going to the Ed Center AND they are adding 600 seats to Career Center? Or, they are putting 600 seats at Ed Center and a total of 1300 (or 1500) seats at the Career Center? Comparing slides 3 and 5 is very confusing.

They will put 600 seats at the Ed Center. They will put 700 seats at the Career Center, in addition to the 800 seat expansion already planned for Arlington Tech.

So it's 1300 more seats total but the Career Center will have a 1500 seat HS, part of which will be Arlington Tech? or all of it? They haven't said what those seats will be.

It also says they will "renovate" the Ed Center, so it won't be a new building.

But is the 800 seat expansion already including the 300 or so expansion that they are planning for the immediate future? The neighborhood would like to know, how many kids exactly they are planning to cram into the career center location, when all is said and done, because the numbers do look now as if it is a FULL HIGH SCHOOL anyways, just without the full high school designation and/or infrastructure! And that would suck. Also, if they are putting that many kids in the career center site, the CC cannot ALSO house all the other programs currently there, and shouldn't have the Montessori elementary with busses from the entire county on the same site as well. Again, total lack of sensible planning on display.

Yes, there is the already-planned expansion to add seats to accommodate an 800-seat Arlington Tech. This is an additional 700 on top of that. They have not said that the added 700 would also be Arlington Tech. It could be some other choice program (won't be a neighborhood school because it's too small). Plus you have the HILT and PEP programs there. Plus 11th-12th graders from all over Arlington coming and going during the day for Career Center classes. I guess if they want to drive up participation in AT they could stop letting kids from other schools come over to take classes. Add in a potentially PreK-8 Montessori and that's a LOT of use of that site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually don't understand the board docs option D thing. The 1300 HS seats are going to the Ed Center AND they are adding 600 seats to Career Center? Or, they are putting 600 seats at Ed Center and a total of 1300 (or 1500) seats at the Career Center? Comparing slides 3 and 5 is very confusing.

They will put 600 seats at the Ed Center. They will put 700 seats at the Career Center, in addition to the 800 seat expansion already planned for Arlington Tech.

So it's 1300 more seats total but the Career Center will have a 1500 seat HS, part of which will be Arlington Tech? or all of it? They haven't said what those seats will be.

It also says they will "renovate" the Ed Center, so it won't be a new building.

But is the 800 seat expansion already including the 300 or so expansion that they are planning for the immediate future? The neighborhood would like to know, how many kids exactly they are planning to cram into the career center location, when all is said and done, because the numbers do look now as if it is a FULL HIGH SCHOOL anyways, just without the full high school designation and/or infrastructure! And that would suck. Also, if they are putting that many kids in the career center site, the CC cannot ALSO house all the other programs currently there, and shouldn't have the Montessori elementary with busses from the entire county on the same site as well. Again, total lack of sensible planning on display.

Yes, there is the already-planned expansion to add seats to accommodate an 800-seat Arlington Tech. This is an additional 700 on top of that. They have not said that the added 700 would also be Arlington Tech. It could be some other choice program (won't be a neighborhood school because it's too small). Plus you have the HILT and PEP programs there. Plus 11th-12th graders from all over Arlington coming and going during the day for Career Center classes. I guess if they want to drive up participation in AT they could stop letting kids from other schools come over to take classes. Add in a potentially PreK-8 Montessori and that's a LOT of use of that site.

Don't you think this is a coffin nail in Montessori getting their own building over there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Don't you think this is a coffin nail in Montessori getting their own building over there?

NP here -- I think it depends on how bad APS planning is, because their own projections say we're going to need 4 new ES in the years to come. Not to keep Henry as an elementary school -- which it is already -- would be spectacularly stupid. Like tearing down an old high school just because you've built a new one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don't you think this is a coffin nail in Montessori getting their own building over there?

NP here -- I think it depends on how bad APS planning is, because their own projections say we're going to need 4 new ES in the years to come. Not to keep Henry as an elementary school -- which it is already -- would be spectacularly stupid. Like tearing down an old high school just because you've built a new one.

If that's a dig at Wakefield, it's not great. That building was basically contaminated.

[Anonymous]

"contaminated"? With what? Serious question, fwiw

[Anonymous]

Black mold. I think that was it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"contaminated"? With what? Serious question, fwiw

Not PP but it was black mold I think.