APS: Wow, the SB meeting was a DOOZY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

My south Arlington elementary is over 70 percent poor. That's NOT DIVERSE.

what is diversity then? serious question assuming more white guilt coming. Is having 25% blacks 25% hispanic 25% asian and 25% white how any community is anywhere?

did you now do research before you bought?

The irony is by the definition you just gave (racial division), Yorktown HS is the most diverse high school in Arlington in the sense that it most clearly mirrors the county demographics. This shocks a lot of people, but it's true. The catch is the school population itself doesn't match the county as a whole -- there's a much higher proportion of Hispanic students. So that drives the racial (and SES) imbalances county-wide for schools.

You people keep saying this like it is so profound. Yet for the life of me, I can't figure out what it means or why it is relevant. "Diverse" does not mean "mirrors county demographics." The county and schools could both be 100% white; that doesn't make them diverse because they mirror each other. Further, it makes no sense to talk about a school mirroring the county demographics rather than the school system demographics. If that's your yardstick, few of the schools in Arlington can measure up. If Yorktown demographics are the "goal," then you need an entirely different school population than the one we have in order to achieve that goal in a majority of schools. So you see, what is relevant here is the school population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

North Arlingtonian here (22207). I support diverse schools in Arlington. I also personally think the costs (logistical, political) of significantly diversifying YHS at this time are likely prohibitive. I don't think that should stop the county from doing a better job with zoning and boundary-drawing in order to diversify other schools. (If it matters, my kids go to W-L.)

I think that is all RG is saying, and those sniveling little sissies couldn't even deal with it. we are the worst. Arlington is the worst.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, if the goal of APS is to let everyone go to school where they are "comfortable" then let all the schools be choice. All the various minority and lower income groups can gather around their choices, as can the white and richer kids. And vice versa

I send my kid to a neighborhood school that is predominately poor and I am looking to get out. The focus on the school is the poorer kids in need of help, not everyone else. I don't have a choice where to send my kid, so I would like to choice out. And no, I cannot afford to live in north arlington nor should I have to. And no, I am not white.

As suspected its all about what's best for my kid.

That''s perfectly fine by they way it's human nature

I have a problem with people who want to social engineer things for others

All choice is the best for everyone. It seems to be working great in DC.

This statement is laughable. No, it most definitely does not seem to be working great in DC.

That said, I'm not opposed to going to an all-choice model. But I don't think many people are supportive of it.

I don't agree that "it's all about what's best for my kid." I'm quite happy with my kids' (diverse) schools. I'm also willing to be rezoned or whathaveyou if that's necessary to avoid over-concentration of low-income students in some schools. I feel confident that my kids will get a good education in APS.

[Anonymous]

There is an Arlnow article about it now.

Comments are typical.

It's also been posted to AEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, if the goal of APS is to let everyone go to school where they are "comfortable" then let all the schools be choice. All the various minority and lower income groups can gather around their choices, as can the white and richer kids. And vice versa

I send my kid to a neighborhood school that is predominately poor and I am looking to get out. The focus on the school is the poorer kids in need of help, not everyone else. I don't have a choice where to send my kid, so I would like to choice out. And no, I cannot afford to live in north arlington nor should I have to. And no, I am not white.

As suspected its all about what's best for my kid.

That''s perfectly fine by they way it's human nature

I have a problem with people who want to social engineer things for others

All choice is the best for everyone. It seems to be working great in DC.

This statement is laughable. No, it most definitely does not seem to be working great in DC.

That said, I'm not opposed to going to an all-choice model. But I don't think many people are supportive of it.

I don't agree that "it's all about what's best for my kid." I'm quite happy with my kids' (diverse) schools. I'm also willing to be rezoned or whathaveyou if that's necessary to avoid over-concentration of low-income students in some schools. I feel confident that my kids will get a good education in APS.

Pretty sure PP was being sarcastic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The gist of the conversation is that Reid said that we need to be doing more to increase diversity across APS schools. The Center for American Progress is coming out with a report that apparently highlights APS as meeting the definition of a segregated school system. Tannia's point seemed to be that the minority students prefer being clustered together because it makes them feel more comfortable. She said that she didn't appreciate growing up as the token Latino in her own school district. She seemed to be saying that Reid, as a white male, doesn't have the right to say what is best for minority students. A lot of people think the segregation in Arlington is because 22207 prefers to stay white and upper-class- which is partly true, at least in some circles. But the other part of the equation that doesn't get talked about is that the Arlington Latino community does not want to integrate either. I have heard this opinion expressed privately by APS staff and prominent Arlington Dems, but Tannia last night kicked it out into the open for the first time. It was a weird exchange, but I'm glad that we can finally be open about the dynamics going on here. It is also why Arl Co politicians continue to concentrate affordable housing along the Pike and try to demonize CARD.

Okay, so here's what it boils down to and that nobody will to talk about openly: many of the parents in the Latino community in Arlington are undocumented. Their kids are natural-born citizens and the parents are in an incredibly precarious position right now. If they are forced out of their hiding holes, the idiot Young Republicans at Yorktown are going to call ICE on them (they threatened a student who dared to speak at a School Board meeting and admitted that she was undocumented). I can't exactly blame them for not wanting to subject their families and lives to be torn to shreds. But that doesn't mean Reid is committing micro-aggressions by talking about integration and by openly taking about the FACT that it's not a level playing field (this crap about income not mattering is some bullshit that people hide behind because it's too hard and uncomfortable to unwind the truth that the American Dream is just a that for most people--a dream that will never become reality because the upper classes are opportunity-hoarding). In a non-Donald Trump world, socioeconomic integration is a perfectly reasonable thing to strive for. Now, for the Latino community, it just might be dangerous. This is something I have become more mindful of and sensitive to over the last few months.

Also, didn't Tannia grow up in PG County? If she was the "token" Latina at her school, it wasn't because of school policy. It was because the demographics of PG County, at the time she was in school, did not include many Latinos. Different story now, but back in the 80's or 90's there was not a sizable Latino population living in PG. Also, isn't she married to a Republican? Sounds like some of the alt-right hogwash about unfair "quotas" and "affirmative action" has rubbed off on her. It's certainly not a progressive position to believe that it's a level playing field and that everyone has access to the same opportunity, regardless of ethnicity/race/class/gender/etc.

So that's true issue number 1 and then these are the remainder:

Many Latino parents in Arlington county themselves are uneducated from lack of education in their home country. They may or may not be literate even in Spanish. The majority are not very likely not even aware or even have time to care about "diversity" or the need for it in schools. They have no idea that white people are sitting around debating this or even know that they should care or be concerned.

The school their child attends is good to them because their comparison is their own education in their own home country. The comparison is not a suburban elementary school in American like the whites use as a measure of comparison. This means the failing, high FARMS rate school looks very good to them and they do not even know they are supposed to be upset about it ro complain.

Lottery schools, focus schools, - if you can't speak and read English the chance you know or understand the concept of Lottery school or what it is or why it's important is not going to register. What you want is to have your kid go to school and come home and the easiest way possible is best because you are likely working.

These are parents who have no idea why a school program like HB would be a good idea. Or any kind of focus school that is not the traditional education. That's what the parents understand as school as as adults who have plenty else to struggle to figure out in a new country try to add understanding some non-standard education offering is not going to be one of them.

For comparison, I know plenty of recent immigrant parents who are highly educated (Masters degrees, PhDs) and they can find the public schools systems difficult to navigate at first. These are people with professional jobs, good incomes etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The gist of the conversation is that Reid said that we need to be doing more to increase diversity across APS schools. The Center for American Progress is coming out with a report that apparently highlights APS as meeting the definition of a segregated school system. Tannia's point seemed to be that the minority students prefer being clustered together because it makes them feel more comfortable. She said that she didn't appreciate growing up as the token Latino in her own school district. She seemed to be saying that Reid, as a white male, doesn't have the right to say what is best for minority students. A lot of people think the segregation in Arlington is because 22207 prefers to stay white and upper-class- which is partly true, at least in some circles. But the other part of the equation that doesn't get talked about is that the Arlington Latino community does not want to integrate either. I have heard this opinion expressed privately by APS staff and prominent Arlington Dems, but Tannia last night kicked it out into the open for the first time. It was a weird exchange, but I'm glad that we can finally be open about the dynamics going on here. It is also why Arl Co politicians continue to concentrate affordable housing along the Pike and try to demonize CARD.

Okay, so here's what it boils down to and that nobody will to talk about openly: many of the parents in the Latino community in Arlington are undocumented. Their kids are natural-born citizens and the parents are in an incredibly precarious position right now. If they are forced out of their hiding holes, the idiot Young Republicans at Yorktown are going to call ICE on them (they threatened a student who dared to speak at a School Board meeting and admitted that she was undocumented). I can't exactly blame them for not wanting to subject their families and lives to be torn to shreds. But that doesn't mean Reid is committing micro-aggressions by talking about integration and by openly taking about the FACT that it's not a level playing field (this crap about income not mattering is some bullshit that people hide behind because it's too hard and uncomfortable to unwind the truth that the American Dream is just a that for most people--a dream that will never become reality because the upper classes are opportunity-hoarding). In a non-Donald Trump world, socioeconomic integration is a perfectly reasonable thing to strive for. Now, for the Latino community, it just might be dangerous. This is something I have become more mindful of and sensitive to over the last few months.

Also, didn't Tannia grow up in PG County? If she was the "token" Latina at her school, it wasn't because of school policy. It was because the demographics of PG County, at the time she was in school, did not include many Latinos. Different story now, but back in the 80's or 90's there was not a sizable Latino population living in PG. Also, isn't she married to a Republican? Sounds like some of the alt-right hogwash about unfair "quotas" and "affirmative action" has rubbed off on her. It's certainly not a progressive position to believe that it's a level playing field and that everyone has access to the same opportunity, regardless of ethnicity/race/class/gender/etc.

So that's true issue number 1 and then these are the remainder:

Many Latino parents in Arlington county themselves are uneducated from lack of education in their home country. They may or may not be literate even in Spanish. The majority are not very likely not even aware or even have time to care about "diversity" or the need for it in schools. They have no idea that white people are sitting around debating this or even know that they should care or be concerned.

The school their child attends is good to them because their comparison is their own education in their own home country. The comparison is not a suburban elementary school in American like the whites use as a measure of comparison. This means the failing, high FARMS rate school looks very good to them and they do not even know they are supposed to be upset about it ro complain.

Lottery schools, focus schools, - if you can't speak and read English the chance you know or understand the concept of Lottery school or what it is or why it's important is not going to register. What you want is to have your kid go to school and come home and the easiest way possible is best because you are likely working.

These are parents who have no idea why a school program like HB would be a good idea. Or any kind of focus school that is not the traditional education. That's what the parents understand as school as as adults who have plenty else to struggle to figure out in a new country try to add understanding some non-standard education offering is not going to be one of them.

For comparison, I know plenty of recent immigrant parents who are highly educated (Masters degrees, PhDs) and they can find the public schools systems difficult to navigate at first. These are people with professional jobs, good incomes etc.

I'm sympathetic to all of that, but understand that this is the priority group in 4-5 south Arlington elementary schools. It will not be your middle class child. We've decided to to put these people together. As a county we've decided this. This was decided 20 years ago.
So when you see how upset Tannia Talento was by her childhood of being the "only" in her classroom, think about how your middle class child is going to feel in a south Arlington school. Ms. Talento was very emotional at the meeting and it's clear she carries the scars of her experience to this day. It seems ironic to me that she can't see that sees helping to continue that cycle, but it seems the Arlington Way is ultimately in agreement. Nancy Van Doren was very hesitant to even address this and basically said she's seen diversity all over the world and we need to think really carefully if that's what we want...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

My south Arlington elementary is over 70 percent poor. That's NOT DIVERSE.

Yet you chose to buy there anyway knowing full well what the school demographics look like. You'll just have to live with that. You don't get to do that and whine about how inconvenient those poors are.

There is no law that the school boundaries have to be drawn where they are, or that we have to have "neighborhood" schools. We could have all choice schools. Or all lottery schools where slots are assigned so that the racial and poverty demographics in each school match APS as a whole and there is no preference for walkability--where anyone "chose to buy" could have ZERO IMPACT on what schools their children attend WITHIN APS. You are talking about political choices that have been made in the past, to have primarily neighborhood schools. We could make different choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

My south Arlington elementary is over 70 percent poor. That's NOT DIVERSE.

Yet you chose to buy there anyway knowing full well what the school demographics look like. You'll just have to live with that. You don't get to do that and whine about how inconvenient those poors are.

There is no law that the school boundaries have to be drawn where they are, or that we have to have "neighborhood" schools. We could have all choice schools. Or all lottery schools where slots are assigned so that the racial and poverty demographics in each school match APS as a whole and there is no preference for walkability--where anyone "chose to buy" could have ZERO IMPACT on what schools their children attend WITHIN APS. You are talking about political choices that have been made in the past, to have primarily neighborhood schools. We could make different choices.

Yea. Choice schools for everyone with the sheer number of students in the county would work great . Not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

North Arlingtonian here (22207). I support diverse schools in Arlington. I also personally think the costs (logistical, political) of significantly diversifying YHS at this time are likely prohibitive. I don't think that should stop the county from doing a better job with zoning and boundary-drawing in order to diversify other schools. (If it matters, my kids go to W-L.)

If you are in 22207, they should be in YHS. We no longer have the room for transfers at W-L.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yea. Choice schools for everyone with the sheer number of students in the county would work great . Not.

Yeah. This 100% will not happen. Their is not even close to enough support for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yea. Choice schools for everyone with the sheer number of students in the county would work great . Not.

Yeah. This 100% will not happen. Their is not even close to enough support for this.

Well if enough people keep posting and writing and speaking up that they are paying to live in certain neighborhoods that direct their kids to majority white schools in an almost majority-minority school district, that could be evidence in a lawsuit required forced desegregation, or in a school board action to avoid such a lawsuit. So you can should stop being so goddamn smug about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let's summarize

Hispanics are fine with their situation
Whites in Northern Arlington are fine with their situation

The only people that seem to be complaining are non rich whites who bought in South Arlington which is the area with the most diversity which is what people in southern Arlington want.....

Am I missing something.....

or are they just jealous of North Arlington

North Arlingtonian here (22207). I support diverse schools in Arlington. I also personally think the costs (logistical, political) of significantly diversifying YHS at this time are likely prohibitive. I don't think that should stop the county from doing a better job with zoning and boundary-drawing in order to diversify other schools. (If it matters, my kids go to W-L.)

If you are in 22207, they should be in YHS. We no longer have the room for transfers at W-L.

NP, I live in 22207 and WL is my neighborhood HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i know this is super rude but could you tell us anything from the meeting that we didn't know already?

They removed the language that gave siblings preferential treatment at the secondary level.

The ASFS team model is being removed.

ASFS people put in writing that they deserve the school because of how much they pay for their houses.

Look at the HS plan and make your voice heard before they vote.

For f*cksakes, will you stop saying ASF people say sh*t like this? We bought a house zoned for ASF/Key because of the WALKABILITY and Metro. We also wanted W-L specifically as our H.S. We did not give 2-shits if the house was located on the Taylor side of the neighborhood or the Key/ASF side of the neighborhood. They are all great schools.

I am a female with a PhD in a STEM field and work in STEM. I was comfortable with my kids at any of those schools.

The biggest whiners about ASF are the ones that did not buy into the zone.

Yes! I am sick of this bs and being lumped in with the minority asfs parents that are lobbying the school board for god knows what. I bought my house because it was zoned for a good elementary school and we were about to have young children. Now my kids are there because that was our zoned for neighborhood school. I wasnt part of the school when they built the fancy lab. Taylor, Long Branch, ASFS are all good schools. I just don't want my kids to be either forced to switch schools or be at a school where a third of the school is in trailers due to a perception of inequity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The majority of ASF-zoned parents we know send their elementary school kids to private school. I can count 10 off the top of my head. I would not be so sure those people live in the zone. Many activists are 'team' parents.

But doesn't it make sense, then, to let their kids attend?

I don't really have a dog in this fight; we're in the ASFS/Key zone but our kids are older and I am without warm feelings towards ASFS and all its works. But it does seem stupid to have a bus running through LV for ASFS and a bus running through Cherrydale to ASFS when those kids could walk.

Ok what makes sense is for key and asfs to switch buildings. Get rid of the science focus or don't