AAP Work Session Scheduled for Jan. 14, 3:30 pm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Strauss did take lots of #(*$ at that October meeting. That's what public officials do. They make difficult choices, and they take (@#* for it. Strauss isn't perfect, but obviously more people in Dranesville prefer her to someone who's completely dishonest with them.

Amen! And at least Strauss told folks in October that they might be moved out of Haycock. She's consistently told anyone who would listen that she wouldn't be advocating grandfathering. So she's given people time to air their grievances about moving to Lemon Road... and air they have. She's taken her lumps. Patty Reed didn't suggest moving the ENTIRE 4th and 5th grades of AAP kids until last Friday. I'm all for creative problem-solving, but you've also got to be involved in community engagement. Shame on you, Patty Reed.

Yeah, I remember that. It was only one month after my child had started at Haycock. If she could have done that a couple months earlier, I might have more respect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least Patty was trying to solve the problem. Maybe it wasn't a solution people liked but she was trying to find one. She was listening to all of the Haycock parents' complaining about overcrowding and how awful the renovation was going to be. She was trying to give them a little extra indoor space and some breathing room for the renovation, while at the same time solving her constituents' problem. It was not a perfect solution, but she was trying. Did you expect her to blow off her constituents' concerns?

Shame on Janie for not engaging in any creative problem solving. Janie knew what she wanted to do and she shoved it through rather than trying to find something that could work for everyone.

Oh and by the way, Janie knew about the proposal before last Friday, so why didn't she mention it to her constituents if she's oh so good at public engagement?

Oh, Louise, you are still in la-la-land. Patty has shown up at WHICH Haycock renovation meetings? Which PTA meetings? Oh, that's right: she hasn't been at any of them.

Parroting the angriest and most vengeful parent suggestions (if Cluster 2 kids have to go to Lemon Road then you will ALL go to Lemon Road, ha, ha, ha) is not statesmanship. It's not good policy. But it makes people feel like you're an advocate... without actually having to do the tough stuff of politics. You know, compromise.

The right solution is a compromise. It hasn't been shoved down anybody's throat. There is no solution that works for everyone. Sorry, Louise, keep pitching those dreamworld suggestions... but we see right through you.

You're right. A compromise would have been a good solution. Where exactly have the base parents compromised? The Cluster 2 parents agreed to having the rising 3rd graders go to LR and now they are being asked to give again and send all of the kids there? Why should Cluster 2 parents be the ONLY ones giving? What are the other Haycock parents giving? It's not a compromise when only one side gives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the special ed kids don't care then but some general ed students seem to feel marginalized when 80% of the school is AAP.

Or perhaps the special ed kids are also AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the Haycock solution is to take the AAP Center out of the school. That way the AAP teachers can relocate to an AAP Center at another school, and then the remaining general ed kids will still access elements of the AAP curriculum. The gifted kids will have a strong cohort at a newly located AAP Center with the experienced AAP Center teachers. It really is the best for everyone.

Um, except that not only does Haycock want the center, but it's one of the most successful centers in the county. That's why they have this overcrowding problem... They're a victim of their own success, as somebody at the School Board meeting said last night. Somebody even said to the principal last night that they'd be approaching her after this mess is all over to talk about "best practices" at AAP Centers. No one wants to move the AAP Center out of Haycock.

I wouldn't be so sure. The Gen Ed parents whine endlessly about the center. What makes you think they want to keep it?

I think for you to complain about whining is irony-ridden. The GenEd parents are not opposed to an AAP center at Haycock. They want relief from overcrowding, and the best solution under the current constraints to achieve this goal is that proposed by Janie Strauss, who presented the reasons for her amendment calmly and logically, and with the clear support of both the Haycock and Lemon Road principals.

Schultz is kind of a one-trick pony on the Board. She likes to see herself as a maverick, like Tina Hone, but she just comes across as totally dense and self-absorbed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Amen! I keep meeting families that have moved to the Haycock boundary area in the last couple of years, yet they are complaining about overcrowding. It has been an issue for almost 10 years. A little research would have told them that.

It's a great school in a top pyramid in a great location for commuting by car or Metro. Of course it's popular, but it's grown more rapidly than anticipated, and the need to create an AAP center at another school will eventually be viewed as a win-win, once the Cluster 2 parents buck up. Right now too many of them are convinced this is some grand scheme to cleanse Haycock when the goal is just to bring the enrollment down in a sensible way and restore some balance between the GenEd and AAP populations at the school. Lemon Road is a more convenient location for many of those families and they'll be lucky if they can send their kids there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Amen! I keep meeting families that have moved to the Haycock boundary area in the last couple of years, yet they are complaining about overcrowding. It has been an issue for almost 10 years. A little research would have told them that.

It's a great school in a top pyramid in a great location for commuting by car or Metro. Of course it's popular, but it's grown more rapidly than anticipated, and the need to create an AAP center at another school will eventually be viewed as a win-win, once the Cluster 2 parents buck up. Right now too many of them are convinced this is some grand scheme to cleanse Haycock when the goal is just to bring the enrollment down in a sensible way and restore some balance between the GenEd and AAP populations at the school. Lemon Road is a more convenient location for many of those families and they'll be lucky if they can send their kids there.

It is an effort to cleanse Haycock. AAP centers cross cluster lines. They always have and they still do. Haycock knew it was overcrowded and didn't want it's own boundaries adjusted, and then figured out that if they created a cluster war, they could get rid of most of their diversity in one blow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Amen! I keep meeting families that have moved to the Haycock boundary area in the last couple of years, yet they are complaining about overcrowding. It has been an issue for almost 10 years. A little research would have told them that.

It's a great school in a top pyramid in a great location for commuting by car or Metro. Of course it's popular, but it's grown more rapidly than anticipated, and the need to create an AAP center at another school will eventually be viewed as a win-win, once the Cluster 2 parents buck up. Right now too many of them are convinced this is some grand scheme to cleanse Haycock when the goal is just to bring the enrollment down in a sensible way and restore some balance between the GenEd and AAP populations at the school. Lemon Road is a more convenient location for many of those families and they'll be lucky if they can send their kids there.

Your repeated attempt to make it sound as though Cluster 2 families are being granted a beautiful gift is a bit ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You're right. A compromise would have been a good solution. Where exactly have the base parents compromised? The Cluster 2 parents agreed to having the rising 3rd graders go to LR and now they are being asked to give again and send all of the kids there? Why should Cluster 2 parents be the ONLY ones giving? What are the other Haycock parents giving? It's not a compromise when only one side gives.

You are looking at the prospect of sending your kids to new classrooms in a renovated and expanded school with an enthusiastic young principal. It will be closer to many of your houses and your kids will meet more of their future middle-school classmates earlier. Sounds to me like you are getting a very good deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is an effort to cleanse Haycock. AAP centers cross cluster lines. They always have and they still do. Haycock knew it was overcrowded and didn't want it's own boundaries adjusted, and then figured out that if they created a cluster war, they could get rid of most of their diversity in one blow.

Actually, we've had to listen to the Cluster 2 parents tell us that, without their kids, our demographics won't be as "good," our test scores will decline, and our property values will plummet. But, if it means a less crowded school where teachers are less stressed and have a bit more space, I say bring it on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You're right. A compromise would have been a good solution. Where exactly have the base parents compromised? The Cluster 2 parents agreed to having the rising 3rd graders go to LR and now they are being asked to give again and send all of the kids there? Why should Cluster 2 parents be the ONLY ones giving? What are the other Haycock parents giving? It's not a compromise when only one side gives.

You are looking at the prospect of sending your kids to new classrooms in a renovated and expanded school with an enthusiastic young principal. It will be closer to many of your houses and your kids will meet more of their future middle-school classmates earlier. Sounds to me like you are getting a very good deal.

I can't figure out if you are passive aggressive or really that naive. No building or principal is worth ripping my kid away from his friends. He has friends right now that he will go to middle school with, and he has the cohort he needs to maintain the necessary level of challenge. Stop pretending like you know what is best for our kids. It is obvious that your only focus is your own kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least Patty was trying to solve the problem. Maybe it wasn't a solution people liked but she was trying to find one. She was listening to all of the Haycock parents' complaining about overcrowding and how awful the renovation was going to be. She was trying to give them a little extra indoor space and some breathing room for the renovation, while at the same time solving her constituents' problem. It was not a perfect solution, but she was trying. Did you expect her to blow off her constituents' concerns?

Shame on Janie for not engaging in any creative problem solving. Janie knew what she wanted to do and she shoved it through rather than trying to find something that could work for everyone.

Oh and by the way, Janie knew about the proposal before last Friday, so why didn't she mention it to her constituents if she's oh so good at public engagement?

Patty Reed is a nice person, but she comes from Oakton and is a novice at dealing with issues that relate to the Marshall pyramid. Her proposals may sound good to some Cluster 2 parents who just want everyone to be maximally inconvenienced if their children are moved to a new center, but it was abundantly clear that what she has tossed out as alternatives are not supported by the principals of the two schools imvolved. I don't know how you get around that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You're right. A compromise would have been a good solution. Where exactly have the base parents compromised? The Cluster 2 parents agreed to having the rising 3rd graders go to LR and now they are being asked to give again and send all of the kids there? Why should Cluster 2 parents be the ONLY ones giving? What are the other Haycock parents giving? It's not a compromise when only one side gives.

You are looking at the prospect of sending your kids to new classrooms in a renovated and expanded school with an enthusiastic young principal. It will be closer to many of your houses and your kids will meet more of their future middle-school classmates earlier. Sounds to me like you are getting a very good deal.

I can't figure out if you are passive aggressive or really that naive. No building or principal is worth ripping my kid away from his friends. He has friends right now that he will go to middle school with, and he has the cohort he needs to maintain the necessary level of challenge. Stop pretending like you know what is best for our kids. It is obvious that your only focus is your own kids.

That may be your wish, but it's not your right, and a consensus is emerging that there should be minimal grandfathering at Haycock if the school's renovation is to take place in a safe and sound environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Amen! I keep meeting families that have moved to the Haycock boundary area in the last couple of years, yet they are complaining about overcrowding. It has been an issue for almost 10 years. A little research would have told them that.

It's a great school in a top pyramid in a great location for commuting by car or Metro. Of course it's popular, but it's grown more rapidly than anticipated, and the need to create an AAP center at another school will eventually be viewed as a win-win, once the Cluster 2 parents buck up. Right now too many of them are convinced this is some grand scheme to cleanse Haycock when the goal is just to bring the enrollment down in a sensible way and restore some balance between the GenEd and AAP populations at the school. Lemon Road is a more convenient location for many of those families and they'll be lucky if they can send their kids there.

Your repeated attempt to make it sound as though Cluster 2 families are being granted a beautiful gift is a bit ridiculous.

Your repeated attempt to make it sound as if Cluster 2 families are being cast out into the desert without food or water is more far-fetched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You're right. A compromise would have been a good solution. Where exactly have the base parents compromised? The Cluster 2 parents agreed to having the rising 3rd graders go to LR and now they are being asked to give again and send all of the kids there? Why should Cluster 2 parents be the ONLY ones giving? What are the other Haycock parents giving? It's not a compromise when only one side gives.

You are looking at the prospect of sending your kids to new classrooms in a renovated and expanded school with an enthusiastic young principal. It will be closer to many of your houses and your kids will meet more of their future middle-school classmates earlier. Sounds to me like you are getting a very good deal.

I can't figure out if you are passive aggressive or really that naive. No building or principal is worth ripping my kid away from his friends. He has friends right now that he will go to middle school with, and he has the cohort he needs to maintain the necessary level of challenge. Stop pretending like you know what is best for our kids. It is obvious that your only focus is your own kids.

That may be your wish, but it's not your right, and a consensus is emerging that there should be minimal grandfathering at Haycock if the school's renovation is to take place in a safe and sound environment.

Definitely not passive aggressive, just typical Haycock elitism. Enjoy your school. It will always be an overcrowded mess. We're headed out of Haycock to private next year, so it doesn't matter to me where you send the AAP kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Definitely not passive aggressive, just typical Haycock elitism. Enjoy your school. It will always be an overcrowded mess. We're headed out of Haycock to private next year, so it doesn't matter to me where you send the AAP kids.

Who's the elitist? Your parting shots land no blows. Enjoy forking out the private school tuition.