Yikes. Lots of us are opposed to HB and I’m one of those people. I am not the PP you’ve been fighting with. The reason these HB threads get so much traction is there are lots of people who think its current existence is problematic. And you aren’t in private school. It’s not controlled by insider parents. It’s a public good; the taxpayers in Arlington get a say in how our school system is run. I hear that it’s been great for your kid. I’m glad. But the fact that your kid left a bullying situation and in HB is not bullied is not an educational pedagogy. You have not explained to me what specific aspects of the curriculum make its unique. Rather what you’ve described is a change of scenery. |
I'm not sure why people get so feral when HB Woodlawn comes up. Yes, it's smaller, but it's really not great for high academic achievers or kids who are interested in being involved in clubs, sports, etc. Maybe it should be a special needs school where guidance counselors allocate seats. |
Oh how rich. You with no knowledge of HB have "heard complaints" and want to fix it. No thanks. Many people are happy with HB. Some are not. The ones who are not do not have to send their kids there. That is the beauty of a choice school. It sounds like you are one who would not be happy there so it all works out. And you have no idea why parents chose it for their kids. |
APS is educating all students. |
I can tell from your previous comment that you don't understand HB because you said something totally wrong. And someone maybe you keeps asking what's so special and different about HB. So yes, I can tell that non HB parents do not understand it. |
I think you're mixing up several posters. I haven't said anything "wrong" about HB and am not the one who keeps asking why it's special. Nor am I the one proposing to pack it full of students or move walls. ![]() However you are treating it like a special club that no one else could possibly understand. It's great if it's been good to your kid, but you have to understand that there are many parents who aren't happy that they didn't get in when they think it would have been excellent option for their kid. They have kids who were bullied or not getting teacher attention and they're justifiably pissed. Hence the suggestion to open up more HS seats and at a time where kids have several options so more kids get to go where they choose. It's not a good look that HB is a public good that only a few get to experience because of a lottery and that is seemingly is being allocated to the most privileged (look at the super low FARMs percentage and other demographics). |
The post I was responding to said that teachers are HB respond to emails and reach out to parents and teachers at their neighborhood school don't. Let's be consistent. |
The basic proposal is that more kids would get to benefit from HB by each attending for 4 years (HS), versus fewer kids getting the benefit for 7 years (MS+HS). It's about expanding the HB option to more kids to make it more fair. |
DP. Wouldn’t that worsen socio economic segregation? How would APS ensure that a larger, high school-only HB reflect county-wide demographics? |
Why would it do that? The transportation issues that affect FARMs participation are less likely to be an issue in high school, as kids are more independent. If allocated by middle school, there would also be a larger cohort of students coming from Gunston, versus the 2-3 that come per elementary school. Apparently some communities are uncomfortable choosing HB without a larger cohort that they know. Choice is also more student-driven by 9th grade than 6th grade. But yes, APS would have to do outreach to ensure broad participation. APS should also look at hub stops to make sure they're in appropriate locations--some groups in S Arl have complained that they're not located well in the past. Regardless, almost twice as many kids would have the opportunity to attend HB, which alone is an improvement and makes it less unfair. |
Again, APS doesn’t need high school seats. It does need middle school seats. You are “solving” a non-existent problem. |
But you have to understand that middle school is a really hard time for a lot of kids. There are already too few options in APS. It's really just HB or the regular schools. So taking away the one alternative is a horrible idea. Advocate for more options, not taking away what we already have. In high school, there are already choices - HB, Arlington Tech, IB, plus transfers between high schools. Not everyone wants HB. |
You have no idea how allocations and admissions work for HB. |
I have had a kid at HB for years and I can remember exactly one time that an HB teacher reached out to me. I have reached out to HB teachers a few times over the years. Most responded. One didn't. After multiple ignored emails, it got so bad that I had to get admin involved. It sounds like the PP had similar back luck with a teacher at their neighborhood school, but that can happen anywhere in a public school system. HB is great, but it's still public school. People without kids there have it built up as something it's not. |
Yes, I do. It's literally on the website. This is a hypothetical new system so those rules aren't decided yet. |