Can anything be done about HB Woodlawn?

[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:Wrong argument.
All this tit for tat about admission is beside the point.

We are paying for a TINY PRIVATE SCHOOL that can’t possibly accommodate the number of students interested.

That’s the only issue that matters. We can’t afford it. We don’t have space for it. It’s not equitable.
The end.

You sound like one of the people who complains how TJ is unfair to other Fairfax County schools. You really expect counties to give up renowned schools because you think they're "unfair"?

Not sure TJ is a remotely good comparison. Fairfax County has more teachers and staff in their schools than Arlington has students. Think about that for a second. It's educating nearly 190,000 kids in 200 schools. Just because it works for Fairfax doesn't mean that model is applicable to the smallest county in the DMV.

DP. Do you have a substantive response to pp’s point, or is this the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling, “I CANT HEAR YOU!” because you don’t like what the person is saying?

DP. TJ is not a good comparison because it's a test-in school. Kids who get in have earned it with higher scores. I, for one, can better accept that model because it's serving a particular type of student with a particular curriculum that not every child could be successful with. If HB is for a particular type of student, as I believe it was created to be, there should be some sort of application other than lottery. If it's just become so successful because of its smaller size and lower student/teacher ratio and its culture, then maybe we should build a dozen HB's instead of a 4th mega high school.

Yes this point exactly. It’s the capped enrollment. Grossly unfair. And yes, my kid did not get in, and I’m mad about it. To those who have an issue with my anger, live with it. It’s the price for the privilege of your golden ticket out of the overcrowding.

And the truth comes out. Your kid didn't get in, so no kid should be able to go. I'm sure you'd be on here defending h-b if your kid had gotten in. How basic of you.

Are you trying to shame me for being angry?! Not gonna work. Of course I'm angry. I have to pay for snowflakes to go to a small private school while my kid sits in crazy overcrowded schools. Next argument?

DP, you're a hypocrite. You would have been just fine with other people paying for your snowflake to go to a "small private school" while their kids sat in "crazy overcrowded schools" if your child had gotten in, and probably would have defended HB to the end. You're not even making a pretense of your argument being a principled one, so go on, keep talking, and the rest of us (even those without kids at HB) will go on not caring how you feel.

Are you saying your position is principled? Give me a break! Nobody is forcing you to care about how I feel. I get the same voice and vote as anyone else. I want HB shut down. And I think there are more angry parents than supportive parents these days, given the overcrowding. Next argument? Or do you not have any principled arguments yourself?

It is principled in that I'm taking a position essentially in a black box where I don't know if my children will get in when they apply (if they even choose to apply). If my position changes later based solely on whether my children get in or not, feel free to call me a hypocrite too. But on that point, I still fully support the choice options at the elementary level even though the same dynamic is present there, and even though my children don't go to choice schools. So there's a bit of credibility there that I don't just look out my me and mine at the expense of the rest of the community.

Excellent principles. Me too. I don’t think capped enrollment choice schools are something we can afford right now. And I’m also angry that I have to pay a personal price for it. I guess my point is that just because I’m angry doesn’t mean that I’m not also right.

The problem isn't the anger per se, it's that you were fine with capped enrollment choice schools when you thought your child might get to go there. Your upset isn't with HB's existence, it's with the fact that you aren't getting to use it and someone else is. Had your child gotten in, I highly doubt you'd be calling for APS to disband your child's school.

[Anonymous]

Our DC got into HB for 6th grade and enrolled. We were excited about the opportunity and jumped at it. It turned out to not be the right fit -- while there was a lot we liked about the school and we think it provides many benefits, it just wasn't a good match for our DC. DC transferred out. For those of you who may be disappointed that your DC didn't get in, you may want to consider that it might not have been a good fit in any event.

I think HB is a great alternative for a number of kids in the County (some even refer to it as a public private) but, as a taxpayer, I'm not thrilled about the cost of the new school at a time when the County is staring down a long-term overcrowding problem at many of the schools. It just doesn't feel right that a relatively small number of kids will be going to school in a such an expensive building when kids all over the county are going to class in trailers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DC got into HB for 6th grade and enrolled. We were excited about the opportunity and jumped at it. It turned out to not be the right fit -- while there was a lot we liked about the school and we think it provides many benefits, it just wasn't a good match for our DC. DC transferred out. For those of you who may be disappointed that your DC didn't get in, you may want to consider that it might not have been a good fit in any event.

I think HB is a great alternative for a number of kids in the County (some even refer to it as a public private) but, as a taxpayer, I'm not thrilled about the cost of the new school at a time when the County is staring down a long-term overcrowding problem at many of the schools. It just doesn't feel right that a relatively small number of kids will be going to school in a such an expensive building when kids all over the county are going to class in trailers.

It didn't have to be that way. HB didn't want to move. They could have built a regular middle school there, but that proposal was soundly rejected. They increased the size of HB when they moved it. It would be cost prohibitive to put a taller building on that site, and the Stratford program takes a lot of space so there's only so many kids they can put there if Stratford goes with them (and only so many kids they can put in the old building if Stratford stays).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DC got into HB for 6th grade and enrolled. We were excited about the opportunity and jumped at it. It turned out to not be the right fit -- while there was a lot we liked about the school and we think it provides many benefits, it just wasn't a good match for our DC. DC transferred out. For those of you who may be disappointed that your DC didn't get in, you may want to consider that it might not have been a good fit in any event.

I think HB is a great alternative for a number of kids in the County (some even refer to it as a public private) but, as a taxpayer, I'm not thrilled about the cost of the new school at a time when the County is staring down a long-term overcrowding problem at many of the schools. It just doesn't feel right that a relatively small number of kids will be going to school in a such an expensive building when kids all over the county are going to class in trailers.

It didn't have to be that way. HB didn't want to move. They could have built a regular middle school there, but that proposal was soundly rejected. They increased the size of HB when they moved it. It would be cost prohibitive to put a taller building on that site, and the Stratford program takes a lot of space so there's only so many kids they can put there if Stratford goes with them (and only so many kids they can put in the old building if Stratford stays).

They could have build HB for much cheaper. That was the plan when it was going to be the 1300 student neighborhood middle school. No way that would have cost $0.1B

[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:Wrong argument.
All this tit for tat about admission is beside the point.

We are paying for a TINY PRIVATE SCHOOL that can’t possibly accommodate the number of students interested.

That’s the only issue that matters. We can’t afford it. We don’t have space for it. It’s not equitable.
The end.

You sound like one of the people who complains how TJ is unfair to other Fairfax County schools. You really expect counties to give up renowned schools because you think they're "unfair"?

Not sure TJ is a remotely good comparison. Fairfax County has more teachers and staff in their schools than Arlington has students. Think about that for a second. It's educating nearly 190,000 kids in 200 schools. Just because it works for Fairfax doesn't mean that model is applicable to the smallest county in the DMV.

DP. Do you have a substantive response to pp’s point, or is this the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling, “I CANT HEAR YOU!” because you don’t like what the person is saying?

DP. TJ is not a good comparison because it's a test-in school. Kids who get in have earned it with higher scores. I, for one, can better accept that model because it's serving a particular type of student with a particular curriculum that not every child could be successful with. If HB is for a particular type of student, as I believe it was created to be, there should be some sort of application other than lottery. If it's just become so successful because of its smaller size and lower student/teacher ratio and its culture, then maybe we should build a dozen HB's instead of a 4th mega high school.

Yes this point exactly. It’s the capped enrollment. Grossly unfair. And yes, my kid did not get in, and I’m mad about it. To those who have an issue with my anger, live with it. It’s the price for the privilege of your golden ticket out of the overcrowding.

And the truth comes out. Your kid didn't get in, so no kid should be able to go. I'm sure you'd be on here defending h-b if your kid had gotten in. How basic of you.

Are you trying to shame me for being angry?! Not gonna work. Of course I'm angry. I have to pay for snowflakes to go to a small private school while my kid sits in crazy overcrowded schools. Next argument?

DP, you're a hypocrite. You would have been just fine with other people paying for your snowflake to go to a "small private school" while their kids sat in "crazy overcrowded schools" if your child had gotten in, and probably would have defended HB to the end. You're not even making a pretense of your argument being a principled one, so go on, keep talking, and the rest of us (even those without kids at HB) will go on not caring how you feel.

Are you saying your position is principled? Give me a break! Nobody is forcing you to care about how I feel. I get the same voice and vote as anyone else. I want HB shut down. And I think there are more angry parents than supportive parents these days, given the overcrowding. Next argument? Or do you not have any principled arguments yourself?

It is principled in that I'm taking a position essentially in a black box where I don't know if my children will get in when they apply (if they even choose to apply). If my position changes later based solely on whether my children get in or not, feel free to call me a hypocrite too. But on that point, I still fully support the choice options at the elementary level even though the same dynamic is present there, and even though my children don't go to choice schools. So there's a bit of credibility there that I don't just look out my me and mine at the expense of the rest of the community.

Excellent principles. Me too. I don’t think capped enrollment choice schools are something we can afford right now. And I’m also angry that I have to pay a personal price for it. I guess my point is that just because I’m angry doesn’t mean that I’m not also right.

The problem isn't the anger per se, it's that you were fine with capped enrollment choice schools when you thought your child might get to go there. Your upset isn't with HB's existence, it's with the fact that you aren't getting to use it and someone else is. Had your child gotten in, I highly doubt you'd be calling for APS to disband your child's school.

But if it weren't me who was angry, it would be another parent whose kid didn't get in. Most parents in fact have kids who don't get in. As a principle, I don't think it's right to have a capped enrollment school that creates the haves and have nots. Sure, Id' take it if it were offered to my kid. I don't blame the parents of HB kids one bit. I blame the system that creates the problem. And also the principal who has the power to let kids in off-lottery.