What do you expect from APS staff (option/neighborhood) on 4/30?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The asfs principal is perfectly fine with the majority of her school population being sent to different communities. Just saying.

As a future Key parent, you don't speak for me. I want to be able to walk to Key school with my kids, not bus them to a school outside our walk zone. Sounds like the current asfs walk-zone parents want the same thing I do. This would be great if more of us have a walk-able school in the Rosslyn to VA Square area.

But you want Key to stay as an immersion school at the current location, right?

No, my kids are not in kindergarten yet. When they start attending school, it would be nice to be a neighborhood Key school, not ASFS.

It would actually be nice if Key stayed as an immersion school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The asfs principal is perfectly fine with the majority of her school population being sent to different communities. Just saying.

As a future Key parent, you don't speak for me. I want to be able to walk to Key school with my kids, not bus them to a school outside our walk zone. Sounds like the current asfs walk-zone parents want the same thing I do. This would be great if more of us have a walk-able school in the Rosslyn to VA Square area.

But you want Key to stay as an immersion school at the current location, right?

No, my kids are not in kindergarten yet. When they start attending school, it would be nice to be a neighborhood Key school, not ASFS.

It would actually be nice if Key stayed as an immersion school.

It may need to stay as immersion if the school board can’t solve the musical chairs problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

Nottingham has a capacity of 513. Pretty much any choice program that moves there will be using trailers from day one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

Nottingham has a capacity of 513. Pretty much any choice program that moves there will be using trailers from day one.

That's the point. They want the option programs in smaller building and to use trailers if demand exceeds capacity. The neighborhood schools get the bigger buildings with more permanent seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's the point. They want the option programs in smaller building and to use trailers if demand exceeds capacity. The neighborhood schools get the bigger buildings with more permanent seats.

Yep. That's kid of the point. It makes more sense to have choice schools (ones where people aren't forced to attend) to be the ones with trailers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

No, she comes from a school system that has used option schools in precisely that way. It makes sense and is really the justification for them to exist in today's climate. Otherwise, they serve as publicly funded private schools. I am an option school parent btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

Nottingham has a capacity of 513. Pretty much any choice program that moves there will be using trailers from day one.

Oh ok, yes, that’s small. That’s also too small for ATS.
Then I don’t really know what the crying about excess seats in the NW quadrant is about - Tuckahoe has an even smalller building.
They will all be easily filled despite Reed. They were so shortsighted and wasteful to build Discovery only for 613 students - they could have made it one level taller. It is unbelievable that APS staff seem to be unable to even look 3 years ahead, and plan appropriately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

No, she comes from a school system that has used option schools in precisely that way. It makes sense and is really the justification for them to exist in today's climate. Otherwise, they serve as publicly funded private schools. I am an option school parent btw.

Where does she come from? And who will take over when she’s on maternity leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

No, she comes from a school system that has used option schools in precisely that way. It makes sense and is really the justification for them to exist in today's climate. Otherwise, they serve as publicly funded private schools. I am an option school parent btw.

Where does she come from? And who will take over when she’s on maternity leave?

Interesting read :


Director of Elementary Education and Title I for Cabarrus County Public Schools in North Carolina.

She also has experience implementing programs such as STEM, Language Immersion, and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program.


https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-appoints-assistant-superintendent-of-instruction/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

Nottingham has a capacity of 513. Pretty much any choice program that moves there will be using trailers from day one.

That's the point. They want the option programs in smaller building and to use trailers if demand exceeds capacity. The neighborhood schools get the bigger buildings with more permanent seats.

The staff specifically abandoned that criteria in the second round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

No, she comes from a school system that has used option schools in precisely that way. It makes sense and is really the justification for them to exist in today's climate. Otherwise, they serve as publicly funded private schools. I am an option school parent btw.

Interesting. Does she live in north or south Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So now that the Superintendent's proposed CIP calls for tearing down the Henry building in a few years, shouldn't we be including the Montessori school in this planning process? If not, what are we doing with that program? Montessori to Nottingham?

That could perhaps be an idea!!! Perhaps Nottingham could stay neighborhood, but with a smaller attendance zone, and add Montessori. I know it didn't work out well at Drew, but I think there was a different dynamic there. It is worth exploring. Many Montessori parents have happily traveled to Discovery and Jamestown for a while, and have hoped to get a Montessori spot there, so Nottingham is not further. I'm not sure, but it should be looked at.

How big is the Nottingham building? The Montessori school will be about 500 kids at that point. Could you fit neighborhood kids in addition to that? I don't see them going back to a hybrid set up.

APS has said no more hybrid schools. I don’t know where you put it if they decide to tear down Henry. It also seems like they aren’t budgeting for having to build another school for it. They know they will need a new neighborhood school around 2025 but that will be needed for neighborhood seats. To build two new schools seems like a stretch with all of the other building projects.

This is where the AB needs to take a serious look at all of the option programs and decide if each one is worth continuing. And I would bet that once it is time to move Montessori again the NW Quadrant schools will again be bursting at the seams.

From outward appearances, it seems to me that Tara natrass only cares about option schools insofar as they can help integrate schools in terms of SES. Otherwise I think she is hostile towards them, probably for the simple fact that they tend to bunch motivated, involved parents together, instead of balancing out less involved parents who either can't or won't get very involved in their child's education. I think she'd happily kill most option programs.

No, she comes from a school system that has used option schools in precisely that way. It makes sense and is really the justification for them to exist in today's climate. Otherwise, they serve as publicly funded private schools. I am an option school parent btw.

Where does she come from? And who will take over when she’s on maternity leave?

Interesting read :


Director of Elementary Education and Title I for Cabarrus County Public Schools in North Carolina.

She also has experience implementing programs such as STEM, Language Immersion, and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program.


https://www.apsva.us/post/school-board-appoints-assistant-superintendent-of-instruction/

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. The fix is in, folks. There are few things that can unite APS parents, but I think we are getting there. This isn't about any one school. This is about APS wasting an enormous amount of time, money, and effort to appear to have done their due diligence when they decided some time ago exactly what they were going to do. We are all getting rolled. Some will be lucky enough to get their desired outcome, but that's only dumb luck. Why was the timeline so ridiculously short? It was to try to stay under the radar with very little parent objection.

We deserve better than this.