Arlington school boundary petition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village residents should hold their fire and save their energy. Wait til the middle school/high school boundary discussions, when your special dispensation to bus your children miles away to Williamsburg/Yorktown is on the table. Prepare for some boundary changes.

TJ seems like a logical destination for Lyon Village. It's basically contiguous with Ashton Heights which goes there. If they're busing the kids to Yorktown, they could probably relieve capacity crunch in the north by busing them slightly further to Wakefield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ad hominem attacks against those who signed the petition are a bit unfair. Not all of us who signed are "lemmings" and while some of individual comments might have sounded "whiny," some of us signed the petition to raise serious issues of equity and efficiency. Even if it is too late, there's a value to raising these issues. I happen to live within a block of ASFS, but my kids will have to be bused to Taylor (which, according to the parents who've actually tested this by physically waiting in front of taylor, actually does take 45 minutes from pickup in the morning to dropoff at the school). And yes, it is true that I was fully aware that my kids would have to lottery into the school at the time we bought our house, back then the chances were actually quite good that we'd actually be able to get in. Now, there is effectively no more lottery because the school is over-subscribed. Fine. But just as my family must adapt to that regrettable change -- it seems that those who bought into the boundary should equally be expected to adapt to the changes that redrawing boundaries requires. This is an opportunity to create more rational boundaries for the entire APS system such that every area has an actual neighborhood school and that entry to the "choice" schools be by county-wide lottery. Taking those within the Key/ASFS boundary out of the boundary re-drawing process undermines that potential. Why not re-consider changing Key into a neighborhood school, and having a different school -- accessible by county-wide lottery -- be one that has Spanish immersion? That way spaces are freed up at both the new spanish immersion site and ASFS to be truly "choice" schools to which the entire county can have equal access via lottery?

Well-stated, and dead-on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village residents should hold their fire and save their energy. Wait til the middle school/high school boundary discussions, when your special dispensation to bus your children miles away to Williamsburg/Yorktown is on the table. Prepare for some boundary changes.

TJ seems like a logical destination for Lyon Village. It's basically contiguous with Ashton Heights which goes there. If they're busing the kids to Yorktown, they could probably relieve capacity crunch in the north by busing them slightly further to Wakefield.

For the second time, Lyon Village is not bused to Yorktown. It is Swanson for middle school and W-L for high school. It was pointed out that Lyon Village at the western edge is two blocks from W-L. It would make no sense to bus Lyon Village to any other high school.

Some Taylor parents seem to be clamoring for a new middle school where HB Woodlawn is currently. It was a junior high a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

22:19 poster here. let me clarify my point about the 45 minute bus-ride for the subsequent poster who thought this was simply not true. parents on my block actually timed the commute -- one parent walked his son to the bus-stop, while his wife drove to the school (she was coming from an early dental appt) to participate in some class activity first thing that morning -- her son's bus didn't arrive until 45 minutes after it left the bus-stop. so no, i'm not making it up. and this apparently was not a day when the bus was somehow unusually slow. it happened time and time again.

obviously, how long a bus-ride takes depends on *where you live* -- for those parents claiming the bus-ride is shorter, consider the possibility that perhaps your bus-stop is physically closer to the school. for those of us zoned for taylor who live next door to ASFS, our kids have to sit on a bus for 45 minutes instead of a literally 5 minute walk to ASFS.

as to "whiny" being apt, let me be clear -- this is not a complaint about taylor. we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have taylor as an option. my point is that the boundaries don't make sense from a systemic perspective. same goes for the kids who live next to taylor who now have to be bused to jamestown. it's an inefficient use of resources to pay for buses to send kids to schools that are much further away than the schools close to their homes. if ASFS were truly a choice school with county-wide lottery, i'd have no complaint about busing to taylor. but that it functionally is a neighborhood school for a community that has to be bused to it makes the current boundary make absolutely no sense.

if you're going to engage in the conversation, again, then please substantively engage in the issues rather than falling back on ad hominem attacks. it undermines your arguments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Key, and we would actually be happy not to get involved with the hyper competitive momzilla rat-race which is ASFS. But we don't like immersion programs, so this is where we'll wind up because we have the option of one specialty school or the other and not a regular school.

I am in the same boat. I wish I had another option.

That's what the petition wants too- maybe you should sign it. It was not the best worded petition I've ever seen, but it was pretty clear to me that they thought that a facility closer to the Orange Line (ASFS/Key) should be converted to a neighborhood school, and the corresponding program be moved elsewhere. If ASFS were converted to a neighborhood school, wouldn't people nearby simply be happy to go there?

Nope. I paid a lot of fucking $ and waited 2 years for a house to come on the market in Key boundary for guaranteed admission to ASFS.

There is a reason LV real estate/ Wilson blvd side is priced much higher than the Clarendon blvd/Ashton/LP side. The elem and middle schools are a big factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Key, and we would actually be happy not to get involved with the hyper competitive momzilla rat-race which is ASFS. But we don't like immersion programs, so this is where we'll wind up because we have the option of one specialty school or the other and not a regular school.

I am in the same boat. I wish I had another option.

That's what the petition wants too- maybe you should sign it. It was not the best worded petition I've ever seen, but it was pretty clear to me that they thought that a facility closer to the Orange Line (ASFS/Key) should be converted to a neighborhood school, and the corresponding program be moved elsewhere. If ASFS were converted to a neighborhood school, wouldn't people nearby simply be happy to go there?

Nope. I paid a lot of fucking $ and waited 2 years for a house to come on the market in Key boundary for guaranteed admission to ASFS.

There is a reason LV real estate/ Wilson blvd side is priced much higher than the Clarendon blvd/Ashton/LP side. The elem and middle schools are a big factor.

And you wonder why the rest of Arlington thinks that LV folks feel themselves a privileged class. "I paid more than others, thus, I shouldn't have to be subjected too movement like others". The fact that any neighborhood is offered guaranteed admission to a sorta, kinda choice school, when those who live a block away aren't is simply absurd. Again, thanks for affirming the point of the petition, and many of the postings made thereto.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
obviously, how long a bus-ride takes depends on *where you live* -- for those parents claiming the bus-ride is shorter, consider the possibility that perhaps your bus-stop is physically closer to the school.

I have, and I am disappointed that you think someone would not have considered that. I live further away from you, and my kids' stop is the last on the route. They are not on the bus for anything like 45 minutes, ever.

same goes for the kids who live next to taylor who now have to be bused to jamestown.

Which, like the 45 minute bus trip, is an exaggeration. If you are right next to Taylor, your kids are not getting moved. If you are quite close to Taylor -- closer than to the new school -- you may. We are closer to TJ Middle than to Swanson. My kids get bused to Swanson. Is it the most efficient solution in our case? No. But a little inefficiency is going to creep in.

PS I am sorry you feel attacked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Key, and we would actually be happy not to get involved with the hyper competitive momzilla rat-race which is ASFS. But we don't like immersion programs, so this is where we'll wind up because we have the option of one specialty school or the other and not a regular school.

I am in the same boat. I wish I had another option.

That's what the petition wants too- maybe you should sign it. It was not the best worded petition I've ever seen, but it was pretty clear to me that they thought that a facility closer to the Orange Line (ASFS/Key) should be converted to a neighborhood school, and the corresponding program be moved elsewhere. If ASFS were converted to a neighborhood school, wouldn't people nearby simply be happy to go there?

Nope. I paid a lot of fucking $ and waited 2 years for a house to come on the market in Key boundary for guaranteed admission to ASFS.

There is a reason LV real estate/ Wilson blvd side is priced much higher than the Clarendon blvd/Ashton/LP side. The elem and middle schools are a big factor.

Why do you think public policy should accomodate your stupidity? The bolded is so ridiculously irrelevant to the discussion it's not even funny. I hope you get rezoned for Hoffman-Boston with that attitude. That should please you -- it'll be a STEM school soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:22:19 poster here. let me clarify my point about the 45 minute bus-ride for the subsequent poster who thought this was simply not true. parents on my block actually timed the commute -- one parent walked his son to the bus-stop, while his wife drove to the school (she was coming from an early dental appt) to participate in some class activity first thing that morning -- her son's bus didn't arrive until 45 minutes after it left the bus-stop. so no, i'm not making it up. and this apparently was not a day when the bus was somehow unusually slow. it happened time and time again.

obviously, how long a bus-ride takes depends on *where you live* -- for those parents claiming the bus-ride is shorter, consider the possibility that perhaps your bus-stop is physically closer to the school. for those of us zoned for taylor who live next door to ASFS, our kids have to sit on a bus for 45 minutes instead of a literally 5 minute walk to ASFS.

as to "whiny" being apt, let me be clear -- this is not a complaint about taylor. we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have taylor as an option. my point is that the boundaries don't make sense from a systemic perspective. same goes for the kids who live next to taylor who now have to be bused to jamestown. it's an inefficient use of resources to pay for buses to send kids to schools that are much further away than the schools close to their homes. if ASFS were truly a choice school with county-wide lottery, i'd have no complaint about busing to taylor. but that it functionally is a neighborhood school for a community that has to be bused to it makes the current boundary make absolutely no sense.

if you're going to engage in the conversation, again, then please substantively engage in the issues rather than falling back on ad hominem attacks. it undermines your arguments.

Excellent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Key, and we would actually be happy not to get involved with the hyper competitive momzilla rat-race which is ASFS. But we don't like immersion programs, so this is where we'll wind up because we have the option of one specialty school or the other and not a regular school.

I am in the same boat. I wish I had another option.

That's what the petition wants too- maybe you should sign it. It was not the best worded petition I've ever seen, but it was pretty clear to me that they thought that a facility closer to the Orange Line (ASFS/Key) should be converted to a neighborhood school, and the corresponding program be moved elsewhere. If ASFS were converted to a neighborhood school, wouldn't people nearby simply be happy to go there?

Nope. I paid a lot of fucking $ and waited 2 years for a house to come on the market in Key boundary for guaranteed admission to ASFS.

There is a reason LV real estate/ Wilson blvd side is priced much higher than the Clarendon blvd/Ashton/LP side. The elem and middle schools are a big factor.

Why do you think public policy should accomodate your stupidity? The bolded is so ridiculously irrelevant to the discussion it's not even funny. I hope you get rezoned for Hoffman-Boston with that attitude. That should please you -- it'll be a STEM school soon.

You people are such Arlington douchebags. McLean and Great Falls are expensive also because of the school district. This is how it works all across America.

[Anonymous]

A Key/Claremont zoning question.

My house is currently zoned for Jamestown but my neighbors right across the street are zoned for Nottingham.

At the moment, Jamestown zoned families can apply to Key school, but Nottingham families apply to Claremont. That means that currently my kids would be bused to Rosslyn for Spanish immersion, but my neighbors' kids would be bused to S. Arlington for Spanish immersion.

Now, under the proposed zoning changes, both my house and my neighbors across the street will be zoned for the new school at Williamsburg. Same with a few Taylor planning units I think.

Will kids in the new school zone be allocated to Claremont or to Key? Will they be moving the kids currently going to Claremont to Key if their planning units are moved to the new elementary school, or will they be moving Key kids living in the new school zone to Claremont?

------------------------------------------------

Key Immersion Elementary School

Population it Serves -- Kindergarten to 5th grade. Serves students from the following elementary school attendance areas: Arlington Science Focus/Key, Barrett, Glebe, Henry, Jamestown, Long Branch, and Taylor.

Claremont Immersion Elementary School

Population it serves -- Kindergarten to 5th grade. Serves students from the following elementary school attendance areas: Abingdon, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Carlin Springs, Hoffman-Boston, McKinley, Nottingham, Oakridge, Tuckahoe, Randolph.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Key/Claremont zoning question.

My house is currently zoned for Jamestown but my neighbors right across the street are zoned for Nottingham.

At the moment, Jamestown zoned families can apply to Key school, but Nottingham families apply to Claremont. That means that currently my kids would be bused to Rosslyn for Spanish immersion, but my neighbors' kids would be bused to S. Arlington for Spanish immersion.

Now, under the proposed zoning changes, both my house and my neighbors across the street will be zoned for the new school at Williamsburg. Same with a few Taylor planning units I think.

Will kids in the new school zone be allocated to Claremont or to Key? Will they be moving the kids currently going to Claremont to Key if their planning units are moved to the new elementary school, or will they be moving Key kids living in the new school zone to Claremont?

------------------------------------------------

Key Immersion Elementary School

Population it Serves -- Kindergarten to 5th grade. Serves students from the following elementary school attendance areas: Arlington Science Focus/Key, Barrett, Glebe, Henry, Jamestown, Long Branch, and Taylor.

Claremont Immersion Elementary School

Population it serves -- Kindergarten to 5th grade. Serves students from the following elementary school attendance areas: Abingdon, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Carlin Springs, Hoffman-Boston, McKinley, Nottingham, Oakridge, Tuckahoe, Randolph.

One of the myriad questions, which APS may or may not choose to address tonight. There are many questions revolving around the choice/pseudo choice (ASFS) programs, as well as grandfathering and a host of other things upon which they are not providing detail on the MSMS website. Should be a fun evening....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
obviously, how long a bus-ride takes depends on *where you live* -- for those parents claiming the bus-ride is shorter, consider the possibility that perhaps your bus-stop is physically closer to the school.

I have, and I am disappointed that you think someone would not have considered that. I live further away from you, and my kids' stop is the last on the route. They are not on the bus for anything like 45 minutes, ever.

same goes for the kids who live next to taylor who now have to be bused to jamestown.

Which, like the 45 minute bus trip, is an exaggeration. If you are right next to Taylor, your kids are not getting moved. If you are quite close to Taylor -- closer than to the new school -- you may. We are closer to TJ Middle than to Swanson. My kids get bused to Swanson. Is it the most efficient solution in our case? No. But a little inefficiency is going to creep in.


PS I am sorry you feel attacked.

the presumptions behind your conclusions simply don't hold. first, you don't know where i live so how you could possibly conclude that you live farther is simply illogical. second, consider the possibility that perhaps it's not just one bus that picks up kids from all points in the boundary? in other words, while your bus stop is last on YOUR route, perhaps YOUR route is a shorter distance from Taylor over all. I, for one, wouldn't presume to know how long every bus arriving at Taylor has taken to get there. I'm basing this information on ACTUAL experience on AN ACTUAL BUS that ACTUALLY picks up and drops off by MY house. Also, my neighbor who actually tested this herself, as I mentioned in my previous post, is not one who is prone to exaggeration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think public policy should accomodate your stupidity? The bolded is so ridiculously irrelevant to the discussion it's not even funny. I hope you get rezoned for Hoffman-Boston with that attitude. That should please you -- it'll be a STEM school soon.

oh jeez

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Key, and we would actually be happy not to get involved with the hyper competitive momzilla rat-race which is ASFS. But we don't like immersion programs, so this is where we'll wind up because we have the option of one specialty school or the other and not a regular school.

I am in the same boat. I wish I had another option.

That's what the petition wants too- maybe you should sign it. It was not the best worded petition I've ever seen, but it was pretty clear to me that they thought that a facility closer to the Orange Line (ASFS/Key) should be converted to a neighborhood school, and the corresponding program be moved elsewhere. If ASFS were converted to a neighborhood school, wouldn't people nearby simply be happy to go there?

Nope. I paid a lot of fucking $ and waited 2 years for a house to come on the market in Key boundary for guaranteed admission to ASFS.

There is a reason LV real estate/ Wilson blvd side is priced much higher than the Clarendon blvd/Ashton/LP side. The elem and middle schools are a big factor.

And you wonder why the rest of Arlington thinks that LV folks feel themselves a privileged class. "I paid more than others, thus, I shouldn't have to be subjected too movement like others". The fact that any neighborhood is offered guaranteed admission to a sorta, kinda choice school, when those who live a block away aren't is simply absurd. Again, thanks for affirming the point of the petition, and many of the postings made thereto.

+ 1000! well put. these sorts of posts just make those who oppose the petition sound like privileged folks not wanting to let go of privilege. and notwithstanding the possibility that the proposed alternative actually serves the greater good in the long run.