APS Interesting Responses to Walk Zone Survey

[Anonymous]

Interesting to see the APS walk zone responses so far. Here is what I noticed thus far:

Tuckahoe vs. Nottingham
Tuckahoe had hundreds of people respond. They are trying to make a land grab for Nottingham’s planning units to increase their walkers.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tuckahoe-Walk-Zone-Closed.xlsx

Nottingham has fairly low response rate and doesn’t want to expand their walk zone. Appears Tuckahoe May outmobikoxe them.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Nottingham-Walk-Zone-Closed.xlsx

Key vs. Science Focus
Key neighbors appear to want a neighborhood school. Tons of responses indicating it’s walkability. You can see on the map that they could easily have 350 walkers in a neighborhood school. Last year, 569 students in the Key zone transferred out.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Key-Walk-Zone-Closed.xlsx

Meanwhile, almost a third of Science Focus people said not to expand their 150-kid walk zone at all! Most of the rest only suppprted adding a couple of tiny units. Hmmmm... good candidate for an option school? Data seems to support the idea of a switch between ASFS and Key buildings.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Science-Focus-Walk-Zone-Closed.xlsx

ATS
Very low response - fewer than 70 people. But the vast majority of those seemed to want to expand the walk zone by adding a crossing guard at Wilson and George Mason, which would add a lot of walkers. Perhaps ATS is a good site for a neighborhood school after all. I have to wonder if the neighbors around ATS didn’t realize they could fill out the survey. Or since so many neighbors go to ATS, if they don’t ask to expand the walk zone, ATS stays option.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Arlington-Traditional-Walk-Closed.xlsx

Others
Another idea I have been hearing is to put the option programs at schools that are not thriving and that have a lot of transfers out. Barcroft had 297 transfers out. Abingdon 413. Carlin Springs 352.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Transfer-Report-2016-17.pdf


Interested to hear what others are seeing in the data.

[Anonymous]

Argh... meant to type outmobilize

[Anonymous]

I'm not surprised Tuckahoe had so many responses. I have two friends who admitted to answering it between 5-10 times. There wasn't an IP address repeat block, so it was easy to stuff the box. What I heard from my friend on another committee was that APS was aware of this and wasn't going to be taking volume of responses into account. Each committee had to evaluate their own data and that just meant more work for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not surprised Tuckahoe had so many responses. I have two friends who admitted to answering it between 5-10 times. There wasn't an IP address repeat block, so it was easy to stuff the box. What I heard from my friend on another committee was that APS was aware of this and wasn't going to be taking volume of responses into account. Each committee had to evaluate their own data and that just meant more work for them.

Inter sting! That will make really hard to tell how much a school community actually supports walk zone expansion or if it is just a troll trying to get their own way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not surprised Tuckahoe had so many responses. I have two friends who admitted to answering it between 5-10 times. There wasn't an IP address repeat block, so it was easy to stuff the box. What I heard from my friend on another committee was that APS was aware of this and wasn't going to be taking volume of responses into account. Each committee had to evaluate their own data and that just meant more work for them.

Inter sting! That will make really hard to tell how much a school community actually supports walk zone expansion or if it is just a troll trying to get their own way!

Yeah. The survey wasn’t designed with Arlington parents in mind. Ha!

[Anonymous]

So APS wrote the surveys not the school. So it was APS who decided which planning units to include and allow to be part of the process. Just an FYI. They designed them by including units in the halfway mile walk zone which is seen on all the maps. Every schools survey but Reed includes only such units.

[Anonymous]

It’s unsurprising that the school closest to the metro had the most walk zone responses, they likely have more parents than any other NW school metroing to work. They’re walkers, their parents aren’t all driving to work. Likely makes them not see walking on major roads as something as scary as parents who don’t walk to work daily. Now those same walking parents could end up being those terrible weekend drivers but hey everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Also there was a Choice School Location Consideration Survey and ATS parents clearly flooded that with responses. Also if you look at the elementary school transfer stats for the year of the nearby schools ATS gets a ton of kids from Glebe and McKinley. I bet all those kids could walk to Reed too

[Anonymous]

Re the Tuckahoe responses, it's worth noting how many of those responses noted that making the PU walkable would require a traffic signal, HAWK signal, or similar infrastructure investment. Those things aren't within APS's control; they can ask the county for the improvement, but there's no guarantee they'll get it. To me, it looks like the Tuckahoe responses kind of cut against the idea that APS could easily expand the effective walk zone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s unsurprising that the school closest to the metro had the most walk zone responses, they likely have more parents than any other NW school metroing to work. They’re walkers, their parents aren’t all driving to work. Likely makes them not see walking on major roads as something as scary as parents who don’t walk to work daily. Now those same walking parents could end up being those terrible weekend drivers but hey everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Also there was a Choice School Location Consideration Survey and ATS parents clearly flooded that with responses. Also if you look at the elementary school transfer stats for the year of the nearby schools ATS gets a ton of kids from Glebe and McKinley. I bet all those kids could walk to Reed too

Where can we find the survey responses for Choice school locations?

[Anonymous]

What? How was this communicated? I live in what is considered an ATS walk zone and didn't know this existed for us. It is SO obvious that the ATS walk zone responders are current parents whose students attend ATS and don't want the school to become neighborhood. Way to go, APS!! Representation from the neighborhood? I think not!

[Anonymous]

APS engage elementary boundary initiative. It’s a two part process with walk zones and choice consideration. It’s an open
ended survey. Lots of Key vs ASF and Henry parents angry and ATS wanting to stay and a few super passionate Jamestown parents. And a lot of just don’t overcrowd our school by eliminating neighborhood schools given APS constantly telling us so many kids will be coming to APS.

[Anonymous]

I feel for schools that didn’t respond, what’s the point of that!?! Or schools who’s PTAs didn’t advertise it, also what’s the point of that. I’m sure these schools who didn’t participate will be outraged by the results of said surveys they ignored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What? How was this communicated? I live in what is considered an ATS walk zone and didn't know this existed for us. It is SO obvious that the ATS walk zone responders are current parents whose students attend ATS and don't want the school to become neighborhood. Way to go, APS!! Representation from the neighborhood? I think not!

It was sent out through PTAs and civic associations. And was discussed extensively here on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Choice consideration results towards the bottom.

https://www.apsva.us/elementary-school-boundary-change/location-review/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What? How was this communicated? I live in what is considered an ATS walk zone and didn't know this existed for us. It is SO obvious that the ATS walk zone responders are current parents whose students attend ATS and don't want the school to become neighborhood. Way to go, APS!! Representation from the neighborhood? I think not!

It was sent out through PTAs and civic associations. And was discussed extensively here on DCUM.

yes, but did the Bluemont families know they could respond to the ATS survey? Maybe they thought they were only supposed to answer for their neighborhood school. There are a lot of people who would like to see ATS turned back into a neighborhood school. It would be nice to hear from the actual neighborhood if they feel that the ATS site could be turned back into a neighborhood school. ATS parents don't really represent the surrounding neighborhood, given that it is a county wide school.