Powerful Letter to the Arlington County School Board about Diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll never understand the county system. While it is cheaper to run than township school systems, there are no boundary issues when you have a set town. If each town in Nova had its own school system (maybe something like Falls Church City), you wouldn't have these districting issues.

You live in Annandale, you got to Annandal ES, MS, and HS. You live in McLean, you go to McLean ES, MS and HS. You live in Burke, you go to Burke ES, MS and HS. Set the town lines and be done with it.

NJ has little bitty townships each with their own schools, and the property taxes to match.

And the fancy schools near the ones in squalor. Is that what the liberals in Arlington and Fairfax want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll never understand the county system. While it is cheaper to run than township school systems, there are no boundary issues when you have a set town. If each town in Nova had its own school system (maybe something like Falls Church City), you wouldn't have these districting issues.

You live in Annandale, you got to Annandal ES, MS, and HS. You live in McLean, you go to McLean ES, MS and HS. You live in Burke, you go to Burke ES, MS and HS. Set the town lines and be done with it.

NJ has little bitty townships each with their own schools, and the property taxes to match.

And the fancy schools near the ones in squalor. Is that what the liberals in Arlington and Fairfax want?

Arlington already has that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

Both Falls Church City and City of Alexandria only have one high school. The demographics of the school reflect the demographics of their respective cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

And the fancy schools near the ones in squalor. Is that what the liberals in Arlington and Fairfax want?

Arlington already has that

None of Arlington's high schools are squalid, FFS. And this is not about the buildings or the teachers in the buildings; in Arlington, they're all good. But the demographics of the student population affect student achievement, and the school board needs to do what it can, when it can, to make sure that the variation between schools is reasonably limited.

Instead, the school board said, "Eh, what's the big deal?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

+1

Sad. There is more than than one poster who can't have a conversation about anything but semantics. Hard to hear the truth I guess...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

+1

Sad. There is more than than one poster who can't have a conversation about anything but semantics. Hard to hear the truth I guess...

What you deem semantics others might simply view as facts, clearly presented rather than misrepresented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best line:
Arlington is only 26 square miles but through negligence you’ve managed to become more racially segregated than all 406 square miles of Fairfax.

Boom. Mic dropped.

Not really. The School Board doesn't make housing policy. Schools are a reflection of where people live.

This article is far too strident and lacking in accuracy to be taken seriously. You can totally tell a high school student wrote it. I give is a B-minus.

People on this thread have been shrill about the inaccuracies, but no one has offered facts to dispute this article.

I think people have offered facts to point out some of the inaccuracies. It's unfortunate that you choose to label others "shrill" rather than acknowledge the errors.

The only fact I've seen is that Madison is outside the beltway. Not super compelling, or particularly undermining of the article.

still waiting on those facts.

Yorktown is not the third least diverse high school "inside the Beltway."

Why? Are there other schools in close-in Va less diverse? If so name them and their stats. That's how giving facts works.

We're not talking about close-in VA. We're talking about "inside the Beltway" -- i.e., the parameters given in the letter being discussed in this thread. I swear, you're positively Trumpian in your attempts to move the goalposts.

Yes we are. The letter is talking about Fairfax and Arlington. Quit trying to deflect and drag DCPS and PG into this. Sheesh.

What about Falls Church City and Alexandria? And why wouldn't someone assume that the phrase "inside the Beltway" includes DC and MD? It seems you want people to read the letter that you wish the student had written, rather than the letter he actually wrote.

+1

Sad. There is more than than one poster who can't have a conversation about anything but semantics. Hard to hear the truth I guess...

What you deem semantics others might simply view as facts, clearly presented rather than misrepresented.

Trivial, and not the point of the article. I'm sad that is what you have taken away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are all "whites" lumped together?

There's gotta be a lot of diversity of people of German, Italian, Irish, British, etc. origin.

Kind of tongue-in-check. I know when they mean diversity they just mean "not so many white people."

Why is the lack of white people good?

Because they are the past, not the future.

Yah because nothing screams fading demographic like the other sides begging for consideration, scrapes and "fairness". Only thing probable is population shifts but even then historically white people have ruled over many countries where they were the minorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The diversity problem in APS has nothing to do with race - it has to do socioeconomics. I don't know anyone at any school in APS that has a problem with people of color; the issue is with the lower income families who tend to have lower levels of education and in most cases are also people of color. Wealthy, educated, professionally-employed people of color are not what makes people not want to send their kids to Wakefield -- it's the notion that their kids, white or otherwise, who they expect to go to college and to be high achievers, will be attending a school where many of the parents have not attended college, have blue collar jobs, and have kids that may not be achieving on as high a level as their own kids (who have had a lot of advantages) and may not ultimately be college bound. I don't think it's about race at all, it's about perceived atmosphere, and the fear that their kids will stand out if they are white and wealthy and advantaged.

PP again - also there is concern that a school with such a disadvantaged population will be more focused on the needs of these neediest kids, and not as focused on their own kids. And just to be clear, I'm just stating what I perceive to be the concerns. We've been perfectly happy with the education and atmosphere at our Title I school and would be glad to send our kids to any of the schools in Arlington, including Wakefield. I think we are lucky to have such good schools across the board. We have family in Florida and a lot of the public schools there are abysmal.

For all you limousine liberals on here quit being hypocrites if you support this you aren't a democrat you are a Republican

[Anonymous]

PP again - also there is concern that a school with such a disadvantaged population will be more focused on the needs of these neediest kids, and not as focused on their own kids

As someone who began her teaching career in a Title I school, this statement has some truth in it. This does not mean you ignore the kids who are not needy, but you tend to focus your attention on those who are. Why? Because they need it more.

Think about it: if you have three kids in your household, and one of them is sick. Who gets the most attention? That does not mean that you don't take care of your other kids, but more concern and time is likely spent with the one who is sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree with his op ed, sign Matthew Herrity's petition.

https://www.change.org/p/arlington-county-school-board-arlington-public-schools-integration

Why should anyone sign a petition that has factual errors, such as asserting Madison HS is "inside the Beltway" or that Yorktown is the third least diverse school "inside the Beltway"?

The kid needs to fix all the sloppy errors, resubmit his paper for a better grade, and then see if anyone else wants to sign a petition. Egging him on right now isn't a good idea and just makes the W-L community look ignorant.

you are just a bitter, disgusting human being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you agree with his op ed, sign Matthew Herrity's petition.

https://www.change.org/p/arlington-county-school-board-arlington-public-schools-integration

Why should anyone sign a petition that has factual errors, such as asserting Madison HS is "inside the Beltway" or that Yorktown is the third least diverse school "inside the Beltway"?

The kid needs to fix all the sloppy errors, resubmit his paper for a better grade, and then see if anyone else wants to sign a petition. Egging him on right now isn't a good idea and just makes the W-L community look ignorant.

you are just a bitter, disgusting human being.

Well, aren't you polite?

The premise of the (sloppy) letter, as I understood it was that a W-L student was chiding the board for not making sure Yorktown and Wakefield were not just like W-L.

I'm tired of people from W-L holding their school out as some type of ideal environment. It's not all that, and quite frankly the people I've met from both Yorktown and Wakefield were far nicer.