Holding APS Leadership, Staff and School Board Accountable for the Boundary Mess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

Ashlawn? That’s a pretty ridiculous boundary.

It’s not like pp didn’t know the boundary when they bought. Hear that northie? You should have thought about schools before you bought your house.

Hey, PP, if you have kids still in elementary school then you should have realized that they were all overcrowded and getting worse and you weren’t guaranteed a seat in your white enclave in SA either. Should have made more money and bought up north then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

Yes. It's obvious you live in N Arl. No one who actually went to a S Arl school would say "they're all good schools." They're not.

[Anonymous]

I wrote this thread in order to start a conversation about how we could, as a collective, hold APS leadership and school board accountable. Instead its devolved into SA residents being told they should have saved money to buy into NA. Why? Personally, I bought a home in SA and am very happy with my decision and specifically WANT to send my child to a school that's not 90% white. But again, that's not the point. The point is that all this bickering is a direct result of the mess APS created. Is it too much to ask for answers and accountability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrote this thread in order to start a conversation about how we could, as a collective, hold APS leadership and school board accountable. Instead its devolved into SA residents being told they should have saved money to buy into NA. Why? Personally, I bought a home in SA and am very happy with my decision and specifically WANT to send my child to a school that's not 90% white. But again, that's not the point. The point is that all this bickering is a direct result of the mess APS created. Is it too much to ask for answers and accountability?

APS didn’t create it
It can be traced back to ACDC and the county board. APS is working within a system it did not create. True it’s appalling that NVD says integration doesn’t matter in Arlington because we are special. But if you want to fight that, you need to start with the Arlington Democratic committee.
Also you can’t fight them. So just go bang your head against a wall
And be done with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

Ashlawn? That’s a pretty ridiculous boundary.

It’s not like pp didn’t know the boundary when they bought. Hear that northie? You should have thought about schools before you bought your house.

Hey, PP, if you have kids still in elementary school then you should have realized that they were all overcrowded and getting worse and you weren’t guaranteed a seat in your white enclave in SA either. Should have made more money and bought up north then.

Pathetic. My family’s situation hasn’t changed. I’m following because we will be back to Arlington in 3 years. I certainly won’t move next to a choice school and expect APS to turn it into a neighborhood school for my convenience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wrote this thread in order to start a conversation about how we could, as a collective, hold APS leadership and school board accountable. Instead its devolved into SA residents being told they should have saved money to buy into NA. Why? Personally, I bought a home in SA and am very happy with my decision and specifically WANT to send my child to a school that's not 90% white. But again, that's not the point. The point is that all this bickering is a direct result of the mess APS created. Is it too much to ask for answers and accountability?

That post was tongue-in-cheek after I pointed out that crap happens in NA too. I was told I should have planned better when buying a house. So could everyone else if that's the standard. Housing policies belong to the county board, and there's just no way to slice up the tiniest county in the nation if the poor areas are concentrated in pockets. That is the answer you're going to get from the school board if they're honest. If the school board was also honest they'd do away with the boutique schools - those aren't necessary. Immersion isn't necessary. ATS as a choice program isn't necessary. They're nice-to-haves when you're flush with real estate and the school populations are tiny. You want that kind of customization, send your kid to a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

So what exactly should they have done that would have been beneficial for all of SA and not just whichever little hamlet you're in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wrote this thread in order to start a conversation about how we could, as a collective, hold APS leadership and school board accountable. Instead its devolved into SA residents being told they should have saved money to buy into NA. Why? Personally, I bought a home in SA and am very happy with my decision and specifically WANT to send my child to a school that's not 90% white. But again, that's not the point. The point is that all this bickering is a direct result of the mess APS created. Is it too much to ask for answers and accountability?

That post was tongue-in-cheek after I pointed out that crap happens in NA too. I was told I should have planned better when buying a house. So could everyone else if that's the standard. Housing policies belong to the county board, and there's just no way to slice up the tiniest county in the nation if the poor areas are concentrated in pockets. That is the answer you're going to get from the school board if they're honest. If the school board was also honest they'd do away with the boutique schools - those aren't necessary. Immersion isn't necessary. ATS as a choice program isn't necessary. They're nice-to-haves when you're flush with real estate and the school populations are tiny. You want that kind of customization, send your kid to a private school.

Bitter bitter bitter
Shouldn’t have bought next to a choice school...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

So what exactly should they have done that would have been beneficial for all of SA and not just whichever little hamlet you're in?

Since you asked, APS can't fix the housing policy decisions dictated to SA by NA elites that don't want AH in their neighborhoods, by I do things the school board and staff should not have bailed on the option school rezoning that was planned for this year as soon as some lawyered-up NA PTAs started whining. Option school locations are one of the only tools we have for balancing farms rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

So what exactly should they have done that would have been beneficial for all of SA and not just whichever little hamlet you're in?

Since you asked, APS can't fix the housing policy decisions dictated to SA by NA elites that don't want AH in their neighborhoods, by I do things the school board and staff should not have bailed on the option school rezoning that was planned for this year as soon as some lawyered-up NA PTAs started whining. Option school locations are one of the only tools we have for balancing farms rates.

Actually, if this process showed anything it is that the high rate of UMC families going to option schools make it next to impossible to draw boundaries knowing what FARS rates will be. Option schools make bringing down FARMS rates that much harder. If everyone had one option, the few UMC families in SA would be better dispersed into the neighborhood schools and not at Claremont, ATS And Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wrote this thread in order to start a conversation about how we could, as a collective, hold APS leadership and school board accountable. Instead its devolved into SA residents being told they should have saved money to buy into NA. Why? Personally, I bought a home in SA and am very happy with my decision and specifically WANT to send my child to a school that's not 90% white. But again, that's not the point. The point is that all this bickering is a direct result of the mess APS created. Is it too much to ask for answers and accountability?

That post was tongue-in-cheek after I pointed out that crap happens in NA too. I was told I should have planned better when buying a house. So could everyone else if that's the standard. Housing policies belong to the county board, and there's just no way to slice up the tiniest county in the nation if the poor areas are concentrated in pockets. That is the answer you're going to get from the school board if they're honest. If the school board was also honest they'd do away with the boutique schools - those aren't necessary. Immersion isn't necessary. ATS as a choice program isn't necessary. They're nice-to-haves when you're flush with real estate and the school populations are tiny. You want that kind of customization, send your kid to a private school.

Thank you for this reply!!! It is much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

So what exactly should they have done that would have been beneficial for all of SA and not just whichever little hamlet you're in?

Since you asked, APS can't fix the housing policy decisions dictated to SA by NA elites that don't want AH in their neighborhoods, by I do things the school board and staff should not have bailed on the option school rezoning that was planned for this year as soon as some lawyered-up NA PTAs started whining. Option school locations are one of the only tools we have for balancing farms rates.

Actually, if this process showed anything it is that the high rate of UMC families going to option schools make it next to impossible to draw boundaries knowing what FARS rates will be. Option schools make bringing down FARMS rates that much harder. If everyone had one option, the few UMC families in SA would be better dispersed into the neighborhood schools and not at Claremont, ATS And Montessori.

You're missing the point. The point is not to give everyone an escape hatch from a suffering neighborhood school. It's to locate options in high poverty areas to encourage but not coerce integration. And it works. It was THE primary reason that key became immersion in 1986; the MC and UMC had bailed on key and immersion gave them a reason to come back. Over and over and over again you hear stupid things like, "if we got rid of option schools, people would be forced to go to thei neighborhood school and farms rates would go down." Nope. People move or go private. That's what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there's only so much land in Arlington, the schools are where they are and the people are where they are. The affordable housing is built where it is, and the school board had no say in that. I wouldn't have been anywhere near as nice about "listening about the community staying together" if I had been drawing the maps. Minimizing the need for buses, proximity to home, and some safety concerns would have been it. I live in gerrymandered North Arlington and my kid goes to a school miles in the wrong direction when I can walk to one school and drive past two others to get there. Can't wait for them to wipe it out, although my kid will be done by then. I don't care if my kid goes to school with rich kids, poor kids, white kids, or brown kids. They're all good schools.

LOL, you are so out of touch I think you're just a sa parent making fun of clueless NA parents who can't understand how good they've got it

So what exactly should they have done that would have been beneficial for all of SA and not just whichever little hamlet you're in?

Since you asked, APS can't fix the housing policy decisions dictated to SA by NA elites that don't want AH in their neighborhoods, by I do things the school board and staff should not have bailed on the option school rezoning that was planned for this year as soon as some lawyered-up NA PTAs started whining. Option school locations are one of the only tools we have for balancing farms rates.

Actually, if this process showed anything it is that the high rate of UMC families going to option schools make it next to impossible to draw boundaries knowing what FARS rates will be. Option schools make bringing down FARMS rates that much harder. If everyone had one option, the few UMC families in SA would be better dispersed into the neighborhood schools and not at Claremont, ATS And Montessori.

You're missing the point. The point is not to give everyone an escape hatch from a suffering neighborhood school. It's to locate options in high poverty areas to encourage but not coerce integration. And it works. It was THE primary reason that key became immersion in 1986; the MC and UMC had bailed on key and immersion gave them a reason to come back. Over and over and over again you hear stupid things like, "if we got rid of option schools, people would be forced to go to thei neighborhood school and farms rates would go down." Nope. People move or go private. That's what happens.

+1000000
Of course I can’t imagine any program being enticing enough to overcome the numbers at a school like Randolph. 1,000’s of overturning units, often housing multiple families vs, a few hundred sfh’s. I just don’t see it. But yes it’s really irritating to hear north Arlington parents bitch about choice schools now that they’ve enjoyed the benefits. It would be nice if the other side of town had a chance to improve. Really Interesting that at one point in time the SB was concerned about attendance and performance, just not everywhere. Just in certain neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

I just have to say how I love that this post started out about how to hold the Staff and School Board accountable and devolved into a post blaming NA parents for the woes of the SA boundary process. A process NA had zero to do with.

NA bashing is getting so old, and clearly isn't getting SA anywhere.