APS Superintendent High School Overcrowding Plan

[Anonymous]

Were there other "choice" options proposed for a high school level facility other than this Arlington Tech option?

[Anonymous]

The comprehensive HS needs more land and that's why the enormous Kenmore campus was under consideration. Carling Springs would be a great location for a MS. Since ES, MS and HS all have different start times, the traffic wouldn't have to be that bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Were there other "choice" options proposed for a high school level facility other than this Arlington Tech option?

Someone at every meeting suggests a second HB. The demand far exceeds the capacity. They could fill HB2 in 1 year, guaranteed!

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain how it works with the hospital land swap? What is the timing and how do we as a community advocate to have the land used for schools??? From what I keep hearing, the county will get a large parcel of land. Is it a done deal? There are lots of great parks in Arlington - I love green as much as everyone else, but there's no emergency need for a new park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The comprehensive HS needs more land and that's why the enormous Kenmore campus was under consideration. Carling Springs would be a great location for a MS. Since ES, MS and HS all have different start times, the traffic wouldn't have to be that bad.

But what happens in the interim? Where do the MS students who attend Kenmore go? Do you mean build a new MS first and then convert Kenmore to a HS? I guess I'm not understanding how it makes sense to convert a MS to a HS and then build a new middle school all along Carlin Springs Rd. Why wouldn't it be more cost effective and less of a disturbance/nuisance to leave Kenmore as-is and build a new HS on land that is acquired. The VHC site is 11.5 acres. Is that not big enough for a HS? How many acres is the Kenmore site?

Also, the neighborhood doesn't care about staggered start times, or at least the agitators in that neighborhood don't (and at least one of them is already getting face-time with elected officials and APS staff trying to stop the discussion before it even starts). These vocal naysayers have kids who are out of HS already, and they just don't give a sh** about the kids coming through now. They just want everything to be preserved in amber as it is now, and too bad for the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The comprehensive HS needs more land and that's why the enormous Kenmore campus was under consideration. Carling Springs would be a great location for a MS. Since ES, MS and HS all have different start times, the traffic wouldn't have to be that bad.

But what happens in the interim? Where do the MS students who attend Kenmore go? Do you mean build a new MS first and then convert Kenmore to a HS? I guess I'm not understanding how it makes sense to convert a MS to a HS and then build a new middle school all along Carlin Springs Rd. Why wouldn't it be more cost effective and less of a disturbance/nuisance to leave Kenmore as-is and build a new HS on land that is acquired. The VHC site is 11.5 acres. Is that not big enough for a HS? How many acres is the Kenmore site?

Also, the neighborhood doesn't care about staggered start times, or at least the agitators in that neighborhood don't (and at least one of them is already getting face-time with elected officials and APS staff trying to stop the discussion before it even starts). These vocal naysayers have kids who are out of HS already, and they just don't give a sh** about the kids coming through now. They just want everything to be preserved in amber as it is now, and too bad for the rest of us.

Build a wall!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds awful to me. We moved to Arlington for the more personal touch, not so our kids could attend high school factories with 2600-3000 students. The plans for Arlington Tech also make no sense. Is it supposed to be like TJ or is it just a plan to segregate kids on the non-college track?

I wouldn't worry about Arlington tech being for non-college kids only. The career center has fantastic programs for all kinds of kids, including some college bound ones. It is a great resource.

The Career Center is a place where college-bound kids take one or two classes, returning to their high schools for other classes, including AP classes. Arlington Tech won't have AP classes, and even in when I was in high school, 30ish years ago, that would have doomed it.

+1. It's a joke of a solution right now. The incompetence of APS leadership is staggering.

I hope you're voting then. School board elections are coming up.

Primary elections, that is, and if you don't vote in the primary you don't get a vote because the democratic-endorsed person has never not won a school board race.

Voters need to read what the candidates say and what their priorities are. We need leaders who can handle a lot of complex information and make difficult decisions--otherwise staff just do whatever they want. I don't know that the best role of the School Board is to help facilitate additional community input--at some point, somebody needs to make some tough decisions. And the Superintendent can't negotiate with the County Board about land or bond capacity. The tradeoffs the community needs to make to SOLVE the capacity issues are political issues, not technical issues. This whole thread is about how pissed off people are with the Superintendent's plan to work within the resources he's got, which is basically rearranged deck chairs on the Titanic. If people want more resources for the schools, that's a political issue, and we need better politicians.

[Anonymous]

Instead of new middle schools they could consider doing K-8 schools at some commentaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds awful to me. We moved to Arlington for the more personal touch, not so our kids could attend high school factories with 2600-3000 students. The plans for Arlington Tech also make no sense. Is it supposed to be like TJ or is it just a plan to segregate kids on the non-college track?

I wouldn't worry about Arlington tech being for non-college kids only. The career center has fantastic programs for all kinds of kids, including some college bound ones. It is a great resource.

The Career Center is a place where college-bound kids take one or two classes, returning to their high schools for other classes, including AP classes. Arlington Tech won't have AP classes, and even in when I was in high school, 30ish years ago, that would have doomed it.

+1. It's a joke of a solution right now. The incompetence of APS leadership is staggering.

I hope you're voting then. School board elections are coming up.

Most of the Arlington voters in non-presidential elections are elderly hoarders.

Primary elections, that is, and if you don't vote in the primary you don't get a vote because the democratic-endorsed person has never not won a school board race.

Voters need to read what the candidates say and what their priorities are. We need leaders who can handle a lot of complex information and make difficult decisions--otherwise staff just do whatever they want. I don't know that the best role of the School Board is to help facilitate additional community input--at some point, somebody needs to make some tough decisions. And the Superintendent can't negotiate with the County Board about land or bond capacity. The tradeoffs the community needs to make to SOLVE the capacity issues are political issues, not technical issues. This whole thread is about how pissed off people are with the Superintendent's plan to work within the resources he's got, which is basically rearranged deck chairs on the Titanic. If people want more resources for the schools, that's a political issue, and we need better politicians.

[Anonymous]

I wish they would create a K-12 immersion program somewhere in the middle of Arlington. Or an 8-12. Or just something to make it geographically more feasible to continue with the program after elementary.

[Anonymous]

It seems the political establishment has spoken, no?
Van Doren and Tannia Talento are the chosen two.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee has spoken.

[Anonymous]

How long before #saveAPS becomes the new mantra?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would create a K-12 immersion program somewhere in the middle of Arlington. Or an 8-12. Or just something to make it geographically more feasible to continue with the program after elementary.

Isn't Wakefield where kids do to continue immersion?
Gunston, then Wakefield?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would create a K-12 immersion program somewhere in the middle of Arlington. Or an 8-12. Or just something to make it geographically more feasible to continue with the program after elementary.

Isn't Wakefield where kids do to continue immersion?
Gunston, then Wakefield?

Yeah, and for those who are zoned for Key at the elementary level it often presents a sufficiently long commute that they discontinue with the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would create a K-12 immersion program somewhere in the middle of Arlington. Or an 8-12. Or just something to make it geographically more feasible to continue with the program after elementary.

Isn't Wakefield where kids do to continue immersion?
Gunston, then Wakefield?

Yeah, and for those who are zoned for Key at the elementary level it often presents a sufficiently long commute that they discontinue with the program.

Oh please! Cry me a river. This county is very small, and no kid is sitting on a bus longer than 30-40 min. They'll live.