APS Closing Nottingham

[Anonymous]

Try to shut up the unreasonable people, listen to what aps says the problem is, and try to fix the problem in a way that doesn’t hurt another school. I’ve seen Nottingham parents have trouble time and time again with that last part especially, so good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try to shut up the unreasonable people, listen to what aps says the problem is, and try to fix the problem in a way that doesn’t hurt another school. I’ve seen Nottingham parents have trouble time and time again with that last part especially, so good luck.

How do you suggest you get parents to stop talking on an anonymous message board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares if Nottingham pta moms leave Arlington. Seriously. No one.

I believe this is true. The problem is when all the north Arlington pta moms leave and you are stuck in Alexandria public schools. Good luck!

“North Arlington PTA Moms” have shockingly overinflated senses of self-importance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares if Nottingham pta moms leave Arlington. Seriously. No one.

I believe this is true. The problem is when all the north Arlington pta moms leave and you are stuck in Alexandria public schools. Good luck!

I agree - no one cares. PTA work is invisible, underappreciated, mocked, and judged. But when no one is available to raise money, plan events, attend school board meetings, organize support for the teachers, and build spirit, identity, and community, then you will wonder what happened.

Nobody cares. And don’t bother being predictable and saying “they will.” Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. They should shut down one of freaking option school, like ATS, send those kids back to their home schools, where they will easily be absorbed, and make it the swing space. Why would they destroy a well-established school with a large percentage of walkers in order to bus in 600 children? (How many busses is that anyway, like 20? That driveway can barely accommodate the two busses it currently has).

Not to mention, with this move, APS has basically created a portal for wealthy Nottingham families - taking invested and involved parents out of APS and straight into private. All those SAHMs who have the time and energy to lead the PTAs are not going to invest that time when they know their kids are going to get kicked out of their home school after third grade.

ATS should not exist. It does not teach any specialized skills (like an immersion or vocational or fine arts school). The entirety of its purpose is to make accommodations for families who do not want to make the investment in their own home school and community.

I can't really speak for the entirety of the APS schools community outside of NES; but I think the rest of us just might be better off without y'all. So you have no sympathy coming from me. Your PTA was royally screwed up a few years back. Hopefully you've straightened yourselves out by now. But quite frankly, your money and resources and "time and energy" have done absolutely NOTHING to benefit my kids' schools. All that disappearing wouldn't change anything for the rest of us except giving us more space to use at the NES building and grounds. So, thank you in advance.

I had a feeling all this vileness was just a childish vendetta to punish people who aren’t even around anymore, but thanks for confirming. I’m glad you’ll be enjoying the grounds. After vouchers get pushed through, APS won’t be able to afford it anymore, but enjoy.

Vileness! Vendetta! Punish!

Are you always so hilariously melodramatic, or only on DCUM?

Oh, and you still aren’t getting vouchers, but keep dreaming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one cares if Nottingham pta moms leave Arlington. Seriously. No one.

I believe this is true. The problem is when all the north Arlington pta moms leave and you are stuck in Alexandria public schools. Good luck!

Gee, I never thought of it that way. After all, it's the north Arlington PTA moms that determine the quality of my south arlington schools. If they leave, surely our teachers and involved south Arlington parents will leave, too.

You have to understand that losing a highly motivated, highly involved UMC population from your school system does not bode well for its future, right? Not a threat, just a fact.

We have an example of what that looks like next door and in just about every town in the southern United States.

We all have an interest in rational decision making from APS because we all pay for it and are affected by it.

I commit to be rational and think of the whole, if my neighbors in other schools can commit to not be vindictive based on perceived slights from 10 years ago.

What? “You commit to?” Who the hell are you again? Oh, right. A powerless nobody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you propose as the alternative, Nottingham parents? Earnest question.

I haven’t seen one substantive argument in this entire thread against APS’s proposal. Their assumptions are all wrong is as much as we’ve gotten. I read their assumptions. They don’t sound all wrong to me.

I haven’t seen any good reason for APS’s proposal to shut down a well established and popular school when we are supposedly at capacity, and only a pandemic away from years of unexpected and significant growth. I don’t think they’ve even justified a need for “swing space” without an idea of the schools that are being renovated or the scope of work to be done with them.

Their data methodology- you can drive a truck through it.

It’s not my job to offer alternatives - it’s theirs to prove this is sound and reasoned decision. Not seeing it.

Cool. You don’t have any. That’s what we thought. Then stop whining and cope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you propose as the alternative, Nottingham parents? Earnest question.

I haven’t seen one substantive argument in this entire thread against APS’s proposal. Their assumptions are all wrong is as much as we’ve gotten. I read their assumptions. They don’t sound all wrong to me.

I haven’t seen any good reason for APS’s proposal to shut down a well established and popular school when we are supposedly at capacity, and only a pandemic away from years of unexpected and significant growth. I don’t think they’ve even justified a need for “swing space” without an idea of the schools that are being renovated or the scope of work to be done with them.

Their data methodology- you can drive a truck through it.

It’s not my job to offer alternatives - it’s theirs to prove this is sound and reasoned decision. Not seeing it.

That’s not how this works. Lolz

Lolz at the idiot who doesn’t know how government is supposed to work. Google “arbitrary and capricious” and “abuse of discretion.”

Sweetie, I know you’re used to being deferred to, but they owe you zero explanation and you aren’t getting one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nottingham families have been the very worst of all families at all schools during multiple different rezoning efforts. They have upset a lot of people. It’s hard to unwind that. No one likes them. Especially not the APS planning folks. They had enough of them after the last two rounds.

+1

There is a certain beauty to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Yep. That’s really where this begins and ends. Not enough kids.

And the question is why. Are the kids here and temporarily riding out the post COVID chaos in private school? Here and gone to private for good? Moved to rural Ohio?

APS doesn’t know and doesn’t care, even though it matters a lot to their plan.

COVID has been over for a while. If the kids were coming back they would’ve. Too bad. Maybe they’ll be back for middle school later, who cares. No one’s keeping a school open just in case.

Agree. I think the 6th and 9th grades are where APS needs to be more alert and cautious, as those are the more likely/logical points of re-entry. Whether siblings in other grades return with them is more difficult to predict.

Kids who went private and not coming back. Ever. They’ve seen the massive difference in education.

Absolutely, categorically incorrect. SOME families are not coming back. Many are.

[Anonymous]

I had missed the comment of the Nottingham parent coming for ATS. Close ATS and use it as a swing space so Nottingham with fewer than 400 kids can stay open, because Nottingham must be protected! Smh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It seems obvious that Nottingham should be shut down. Less than 400 kids? Give me a break. Unless there us another school with even fewer kids it just makes sense.

Fewer than 400 kids !!! I remember when the community was up in arms about leaving drew so underenrolled after MPSA left. Drew is now larger than Nottingham.

But the housing policies that filled up Drew don’t apply to Nottingham. Unless the community is asking the county to build a CAF up in that neighborhood to fill up the school. One building would do it.

I remember a few years ago Jamestown was so under enrolled that they had to fill it with pre school and sped programs. Is that still the case? Maybe Nott isn’t really the lowest enrollment if you compare the number of neighborhood kids across schools, and don’t take into account the other programs that don’t have to be in any particular place.

And why did APS fill up Jamestown with these other programs instead of closing it, but now wants to close Nott? Nott isn’t that underenrolled. APS could move some of the programs out of the overcrowded schools and get it right back up to 100.

But look at how fast a Nottingham parent is to point to Jamestown or some other elementary school as an alternative chopping block head to get them out of their problem. They do this every cycle, did it with McKinley a few times and Taylor or Tuckahoe when they didn’t want to take in excess kids and pointed them towards other schools instead. You guys are the worst.

You understand that most of the current Nottingham parents weren’t there during the last round of this, right? Time moves in only one direction - kids get older and graduate to middle and high schools.

And yet the neighborhood attitudes remain the same.

It seems the only thing that seems to stay the same are the nonsensical attitudes lacking any basis in reality towards Nottingham families. I don’t get why people have so much animosity.

It's really concerning how much animosity people have towards nottingham. let's keep in mind we're talking about young children here.

No, it isn’t. It’s about their privileged, disgustingly entitled parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents saying that they families who live on “Route 50 access roads” should be the ones to take the swing space because Nottingham families paid a lot of money to live in a quiet neighborhood.

Parents saying that under 400 students is actually the ideal enrollment and APS should not burden Nottingham just because other schools elsewhere have more kids.

Parents exploiting the deaths in the neighborhood to mean that Nottingham could not handle buses from other locations.

I think some of these are trolls from other schools trying to disparage Nottingham.

Ha! So, it’s fake news. Even though many many Nottingham families have said similar things at meetings. And right before the pandemic someone active in your pta tried to get don Beyer involved. Yes. Your claim is credible. Eyeroll.

Flip it to closing your beloved school. Would you take it sitting down and just accept it? Of course not.

You know nothing you say or do will change it, right? What’s next? A meaningless change.org petition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you propose as the alternative, Nottingham parents? Earnest question.

I haven’t seen one substantive argument in this entire thread against APS’s proposal. Their assumptions are all wrong is as much as we’ve gotten. I read their assumptions. They don’t sound all wrong to me.

I haven’t seen any good reason for APS’s proposal to shut down a well established and popular school when we are supposedly at capacity, and only a pandemic away from years of unexpected and significant growth. I don’t think they’ve even justified a need for “swing space” without an idea of the schools that are being renovated or the scope of work to be done with them.

Their data methodology- you can drive a truck through it.

It’s not my job to offer alternatives - it’s theirs to prove this is sound and reasoned decision. Not seeing it.

Cool. You don’t have any. That’s what we thought. Then stop whining and cope.

“We?” GMAFB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents saying that they families who live on “Route 50 access roads” should be the ones to take the swing space because Nottingham families paid a lot of money to live in a quiet neighborhood.

Parents saying that under 400 students is actually the ideal enrollment and APS should not burden Nottingham just because other schools elsewhere have more kids.

Parents exploiting the deaths in the neighborhood to mean that Nottingham could not handle buses from other locations.

I think some of these are trolls from other schools trying to disparage Nottingham.

Ha! So, it’s fake news. Even though many many Nottingham families have said similar things at meetings. And right before the pandemic someone active in your pta tried to get don Beyer involved. Yes. Your claim is credible. Eyeroll.

Flip it to closing your beloved school. Would you take it sitting down and just accept it? Of course not.

You know nothing you say or do will change it, right? What’s next? A meaningless change.org petition?

You didn’t answer the question.