APS Elementary Planning Mtg at Swanson - Option 1 in, Option 2 out, McKinley Moms out of contro

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McK parents are the smartest of all parents.

I’m waiting for them to offer up Reed instead and get taken down by other McK parents.

They won’t. They are so outnumbered. The few who are still pushing the McMap don’t have the support of the greater community. Plenty of us are tired of them giving us rational cardinals a bad name.

Then how about a flock of you other cardinals flying to a board meeting and saying so publicly to them? They need to know they don't represent the majority of McKinley. 'cause your PTA is putting out information that opposes staff's recommendations.

They tune us out if we question their logic and especially if we suggest why other NA schools are not good choices as option schools (e.g. transportation, bus shortages etc.). I think option one is a done deal so I’m not going to waste my time lobbying for or against.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McK parents are the smartest of all parents.

I’m waiting for them to offer up Reed instead and get taken down by other McK parents.

They won’t. They are so outnumbered. The few who are still pushing the McMap don’t have the support of the greater community. Plenty of us are tired of them giving us rational cardinals a bad name.

Then how about a flock of you other cardinals flying to a board meeting and saying so publicly to them? They need to know they don't represent the majority of McKinley. 'cause your PTA is putting out information that opposes staff's recommendations.

Please, sane McKinley parents, I beg you to speak up. And implore you to make one group public showing — either at a SB meeting or the hearing. Only one person has to speak — the others can just do the silent clap thing to show a number of you are there. I will babysit your kids for the night!

[Anonymous]

Yes. The parents of east Arlington need people to speak up. The crowding there (or the bus rides) will become insane if McKinley blocks this Key move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. The parents of east Arlington need people to speak up. The crowding there (or the bus rides) will become insane if McKinley blocks this Key move.

The parents of East Arlington need to counter the key narrative. That is the most important lobbying work to be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A majority of the McK parents I know in the affected DH/MM zone south of Rt 66 are so over this "fight" of a few and have moved on to acceptance. After reviewing everything put out, including this new convoluted option 3 map, I still think Option 1 is the only realistic solution (even though I don't like that our neighborhood school is closing) given the strong growth experienced by APS.

I think the loudest voices of opposition are from parents within a short walk of McK. And those in the immediate neighborhood who are already bothered by the morning buses.

Finally a voice of reason. When will McKrazy and Data Dude(s) be able to let it go?

(PP 16:55) Never, they will continue through the boundary process.
I’m worried they will push it too far, further anger APS staff who will then create a special pilot program to bus all of our kids to an under-capacity SA school like Drew!

Can we please stop bashing our Title I schools? We get it - you think we're awful and you paid a premium to make sure your kids wouldn't be dragged down by ours. We don't want a special pilot program to bus our kids to an over-capacity north arlington school. But the insinuation behind your comment is a put-down; there's no insinuation in mine.

Speak for yourself. My kid goes to a title I school because I could not afford to live in a non title I area. I would gladly have my kid bused to a better school where the focus of the school is on academic excellence and not bridging the achievement gap. I am absolutely not alone in my point of view. Why do you think so many families try to option out of their local failing school??? Or just move when then can?? You are welcome to stay at your school, just give us the option to get out. I would welcome a pilot!!! Or just an opt out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A majority of the McK parents I know in the affected DH/MM zone south of Rt 66 are so over this "fight" of a few and have moved on to acceptance. After reviewing everything put out, including this new convoluted option 3 map, I still think Option 1 is the only realistic solution (even though I don't like that our neighborhood school is closing) given the strong growth experienced by APS.

I think the loudest voices of opposition are from parents within a short walk of McK. And those in the immediate neighborhood who are already bothered by the morning buses.

Finally a voice of reason. When will McKrazy and Data Dude(s) be able to let it go?

(PP 16:55) Never, they will continue through the boundary process.
I’m worried they will push it too far, further anger APS staff who will then create a special pilot program to bus all of our kids to an under-capacity SA school like Drew!

Can we please stop bashing our Title I schools? We get it - you think we're awful and you paid a premium to make sure your kids wouldn't be dragged down by ours. We don't want a special pilot program to bus our kids to an over-capacity north arlington school. But the insinuation behind your comment is a put-down; there's no insinuation in mine.

Speak for yourself. My kid goes to a title I school because I could not afford to live in a non title I area. I would gladly have my kid bused to a better school where the focus of the school is on academic excellence and not bridging the achievement gap. I am absolutely not alone in my point of view. Why do you think so many families try to option out of their local failing school??? Or just move when then can?? You are welcome to stay at your school, just give us the option to get out. I would welcome a pilot!!! Or just an opt out.

Curious... is this the first year your child is in a Title 1 school? Did you go to a different school last year? If so, do you notice a substantial difference in their educational experience, and how so? One of the challenges I hear from parents at the high poverty SA schools is lack of the “extras”- like established PTA’s, scouts, enrichment, etc. I believe it. But I don’t usually hear them complain about the academics.

[Anonymous]

PP here. We moved here when DD was in 3rd grade. In 5th now. She went to a high performing north Arlington school until then. Moved bc of divorce and all we could afford was south Arlington and I needed to be close to work. School made it very clear that once we moved, she moved schools. The difference between the two schools is incredible. Not just extras, the classroom is totally different. Expectations are low, very low. She had already mastered skills her class was still learning. And she isn’t gifted, very average actually. I am saving every single penny I have to move before she goes into middle school here. We are in the kenmore zone and this system of title I schools is not doing her or any of the other kids justice. There are two totally different school systems here in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Yep. What SA lifers don’t know is that the classrooms and content are different. Everyone gets the LCD basic curriculum county wide. Easy to ignore 3 outlier kids who came in knowing the grade level standards which is what happened at our SA school. Yes, they occasionally got more challenging stuff. But in our NA school they have a whole cohort (1/3 of grade?) that operates beyond the grade level. Kids above grade level or just kids not struggling get a better education in NA. Most SA schools are “fine” for academics. No one will get ignored or lost. But hard to get a lot of help in excelling because there are many more needs, academic and otherwise. That’s just the reality. Many smart kids if all incomes. Not enough resources to “Personalize” learning for high achievers. People will say it was great for their kid, etc. I can bet most of those never had a chance to compare to NA equivalent. Maybe the difference doesn’t matter to some. It mattered To us.

[Anonymous]

Pp here: we had 4 teachers over the years our SA school and 5 in the NA school. All but 2 (one at each school) were amazing. But we had to meet with the SA teachers at least twice a year and at least once a year with the principal to monitor progress (for example my kid came in at a high(ish) PALS level one year and made no progress?! When we moved to NA I assumed I would still need to do the same. Never. Not one meeting outside of conferences about academics. Teachers would tell ME what kind of additional challenges they were giving my kid. Without asking. At SA school that never happened. They had too much on their hands to note things about my kids. And they were great teachers. I don’t have a snowflake. I never had to say boo to our NA teachers. It is a relief to not have to monitor my kids progress and advocate for them for challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yep. What SA lifers don’t know is that the classrooms and content are different. Everyone gets the LCD basic curriculum county wide. Easy to ignore 3 outlier kids who came in knowing the grade level standards which is what happened at our SA school. Yes, they occasionally got more challenging stuff. But in our NA school they have a whole cohort (1/3 of grade?) that operates beyond the grade level. Kids above grade level or just kids not struggling get a better education in NA. Most SA schools are “fine” for academics. No one will get ignored or lost. But hard to get a lot of help in excelling because there are many more needs, academic and otherwise. That’s just the reality. Many smart kids if all incomes. Not enough resources to “Personalize” learning for high achievers. People will say it was great for their kid, etc. I can bet most of those never had a chance to compare to NA equivalent. Maybe the difference doesn’t matter to some. It mattered To us.

This is why we can't let Key become a neighborhood school. If immersion moves to ATS...the families left at Key will face the same issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep. What SA lifers don’t know is that the classrooms and content are different. Everyone gets the LCD basic curriculum county wide. Easy to ignore 3 outlier kids who came in knowing the grade level standards which is what happened at our SA school. Yes, they occasionally got more challenging stuff. But in our NA school they have a whole cohort (1/3 of grade?) that operates beyond the grade level. Kids above grade level or just kids not struggling get a better education in NA. Most SA schools are “fine” for academics. No one will get ignored or lost. But hard to get a lot of help in excelling because there are many more needs, academic and otherwise. That’s just the reality. Many smart kids if all incomes. Not enough resources to “Personalize” learning for high achievers. People will say it was great for their kid, etc. I can bet most of those never had a chance to compare to NA equivalent. Maybe the difference doesn’t matter to some. It mattered To us.

This is why we can't let Key become a neighborhood school. If immersion moves to ATS...the families left at Key will face the same issues.

So the families at Key will be left to go to school with other families in their neighborhood who didn’t win the lottery? And that’s a bunch of poor people. So we should use more buses and have kids with longer bus rides for many more in the county because of the few families who you claim can’t make ASFS work?

[Anonymous]

Yeah. I throw the flag on that. Neighborhood key will not face same issues as the West Pike (this is PP who moved to NA). No way. You all need to get over yourselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. I throw the flag on that. Neighborhood key will not face same issues as the West Pike (this is PP who moved to NA). No way. You all need to get over yourselves.

We need more Title I schools in NA - bring the extra resources and wrap-around services to Key instead of breaking it up as we do today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. I throw the flag on that. Neighborhood key will not face same issues as the West Pike (this is PP who moved to NA). No way. You all need to get over yourselves.

We need more Title I schools in NA - bring the extra resources and wrap-around services to Key instead of breaking it up as we do today.

Haha Lyon Village going to a Title I school at Key? Maybe when pigs fly...I will not believe that until McKrazy sings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah. I throw the flag on that. Neighborhood key will not face same issues as the West Pike (this is PP who moved to NA). No way. You all need to get over yourselves.

We need more Title I schools in NA - bring the extra resources and wrap-around services to Key instead of breaking it up as we do today.

Haha Lyon Village going to a Title I school at Key? Maybe when pigs fly...I will not believe that until McKrazy sings.

Any ideas what the Great Schools rating will be at the new Neighborhood Key? Looks like Barrett is 4...that wouldn't be good for Lyon Village home prices.