APS Fall boundary questionnaire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d make Claremont a neighborhood school and move immersion to Drew. Immersion is a draw for many Fairlington/Shirlington families.

Making Drew an option school isn’t politically viable right now. It was mostly option Montessori until a few years ago and there was a big push to make it a neighborhood school to right the wrong done generations ago via bussing. Making it option again would be insensitive/racist/inequitable/etc and would be a whole cluster.

I understand that the community was wary of the Montessori program siphoning resources away from the neighborhood program.

I also get that it’s easy to quickly defend any changes to Drew as racist or harmful, but meanwhile APS is steadily building a new map of segregation and inequity. Drew can’t sit at 80% occupied while other APS schools become over crowded, especially schools with high FARMs.

The Green Valley old timers would say to just redraw the lines and fill it up... and they wouldn’t be wrong. There is an overcrowded school zone bordering a school zone that has empty seats. The answer is very straightforward. As for the overall segregation, that’s inevitable as long as we have neighborhood schools and the county board keeps approving 300+ unit CAFs in the same handful of places.

Maybe the point about creating segregation will resonate with the county board. I just don’t think they care about schools, but maybe they care about perpetuating segregation (or rather they could me motivated to stop perpetuating segregation).

This is the most hysterical comment I have ever read on DCUM. The County Board doesn't give a crap about segregation - it created and perpetuates it! It's the County Board that continues to push and support concentration of low-income housing in the same neighborhoods and has no genuine interest in doing otherwise. The County Board argues it's more efficient for social services (just like APS argues). The County Board touts "all Arlington schools are great" (just like APS does) and "you can get an excellent education in any Arlington school" (without distinguishing that those 'excellent educations' are vastly different across the County and are NOT equal in content or depth or breadth or social experience or opportunities).

A County Board that supports segregated neighborhoods isn't going to care about segregated schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Drew just can't get a break. Their amazing, charismatic principal who's been instilling a lot of enthusiasm and optimism about Drew within the community just got a promotion and will no longer be the principal.

Such bad timing! She needed to be there at least 3- 5 years to help get Drew off to a great start.

I’m so upset!! They want everyone to be willing to send there kids there, and I was 100% but she was the driving factor!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d make Claremont a neighborhood school and move immersion to Drew. Immersion is a draw for many Fairlington/Shirlington families.

Making Drew an option school isn’t politically viable right now. It was mostly option Montessori until a few years ago and there was a big push to make it a neighborhood school to right the wrong done generations ago via bussing. Making it option again would be insensitive/racist/inequitable/etc and would be a whole cluster.

I understand that the community was wary of the Montessori program siphoning resources away from the neighborhood program.

I also get that it’s easy to quickly defend any changes to Drew as racist or harmful, but meanwhile APS is steadily building a new map of segregation and inequity. Drew can’t sit at 80% occupied while other APS schools become over crowded, especially schools with high FARMs.

The Green Valley old timers would say to just redraw the lines and fill it up... and they wouldn’t be wrong. There is an overcrowded school zone bordering a school zone that has empty seats. The answer is very straightforward. As for the overall segregation, that’s inevitable as long as we have neighborhood schools and the county board keeps approving 300+ unit CAFs in the same handful of places.

Maybe the point about creating segregation will resonate with the county board. I just don’t think they care about schools, but maybe they care about perpetuating segregation (or rather they could me motivated to stop perpetuating segregation).

I’m a DP, but as best as I can figure out, it’s easiest for the County and developers to approve or redevelop CAFs in certain places, and so they continue to approve buildings for those places only. Then the problem perpetuates itself. The segregation problem is most pronounced in 22207, but the County and others like to lecture the rest of us about how we aren’t being “inclusive” enough if we question this pattern. I think they know and don’t care.

You're very polite. You mean they call you racist.
If someone who lives in south Arlington pushes for mixed-income housing and affordable housing across the County, they're deemed racist.
If someone from north Arlington pushes for the same, they either lack understanding of poor immigrant people and the importance of community and/or are given lip service with feigned agreement and the big "BUT" it's too expensive to build affordable housing in north arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

Boundaries won’t work unless you make islands of rich kids to bring south and poor kids to bring north. The distribution just doesn’t work.

Countywide ranking system has the same problem as above. If you have quotas for income level some people are going to be bussed across the county by force and no one wants that (or wants to pay for it).

The county board loves affordable housing. It makes them feel good and makes the developers a ton of money. They aren’t going to stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

I posted the link and budget comment. I agree with you- it’s the County’s position and not the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

Boundaries won’t work unless you make islands of rich kids to bring south and poor kids to bring north. The distribution just doesn’t work.

Countywide ranking system has the same problem as above. If you have quotas for income level some people are going to be bussed across the county by force and no one wants that (or wants to pay for it).

The county board loves affordable housing. It makes them feel good and makes the developers a ton of money. They aren’t going to stop.

You're just making the same excuses APS and the County make. You asked for suggestions. You're not genuinely interested if you're just going to take the same "it's too complicated or hard" attitude. the CB can love affordable housing - I don't care. But they can love it all over Arlington. The problem is, the only love it where it is (which isn't in their neighborhoods or their kids' schools) - and that's precisely why they love it the way it is and have no interest in change.

Don't ask for solutions if you don't actually want any. You should have asked for suggestions you'd be willing to approve of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

People adapt. If the system were something different, people moving here would have still participated in it. It's the process of change that people oppose. Nobody likes going outside their comfort zone. But everyone going out of their comfort zone is essential for actual solutions. It's just pathetic that the opposition is "it's too inconvenient for me and my lifestyle" and even more pathetic when the rich people use "it's too inconvenient for the poor people" as the opposition argument to keep things the way they like them for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

People adapt. If the system were something different, people moving here would have still participated in it. It's the process of change that people oppose. Nobody likes going outside their comfort zone. But everyone going out of their comfort zone is essential for actual solutions. It's just pathetic that the opposition is "it's too inconvenient for me and my lifestyle" and even more pathetic when the rich people use "it's too inconvenient for the poor people" as the opposition argument to keep things the way they like them for themselves.

Arlington parents of all backgrounds have said over and over in surveys, public comment, etc. how important neighborhood schools (ie proximity) is to them. When you have two working parents, pick up at aftercare on the other side of the county just isn't feasible. That's more important to most parents than uprooting the entire system to balance numbers. Sorry, that's the truth. Start with the high school kids for the grand lottery experiment. If it goes well, move to the middle schoolers. Only then can you attempt the full lottery elementary idea.

[Anonymous]

How does that help Drew? It’s a race to the bottom for Drew and Carlin Springs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

People adapt. If the system were something different, people moving here would have still participated in it. It's the process of change that people oppose. Nobody likes going outside their comfort zone. But everyone going out of their comfort zone is essential for actual solutions. It's just pathetic that the opposition is "it's too inconvenient for me and my lifestyle" and even more pathetic when the rich people use "it's too inconvenient for the poor people" as the opposition argument to keep things the way they like them for themselves.

Arlington parents of all backgrounds have said over and over in surveys, public comment, etc. how important neighborhood schools (ie proximity) is to them. When you have two working parents, pick up at aftercare on the other side of the county just isn't feasible. That's more important to most parents than uprooting the entire system to balance numbers. Sorry, that's the truth. Start with the high school kids for the grand lottery experiment. If it goes well, move to the middle schoolers. Only then can you attempt the full lottery elementary idea.

Then maybe we should end options programs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

People adapt. If the system were something different, people moving here would have still participated in it. It's the process of change that people oppose. Nobody likes going outside their comfort zone. But everyone going out of their comfort zone is essential for actual solutions. It's just pathetic that the opposition is "it's too inconvenient for me and my lifestyle" and even more pathetic when the rich people use "it's too inconvenient for the poor people" as the opposition argument to keep things the way they like them for themselves.

Arlington parents of all backgrounds have said over and over in surveys, public comment, etc. how important neighborhood schools (ie proximity) is to them. When you have two working parents, pick up at aftercare on the other side of the county just isn't feasible. That's more important to most parents than uprooting the entire system to balance numbers. Sorry, that's the truth. Start with the high school kids for the grand lottery experiment. If it goes well, move to the middle schoolers. Only then can you attempt the full lottery elementary idea.

Then maybe we should end options programs

That is what the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer should do.