Reply to 50%+ FARMS schools in Arlington

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Less parent involvement, less active PTA, fewer extra-curriculars like chess club, etc., lower participation in whatever after-school activities do exist, less money for the extras paid for by the PTA, like playground upgrades, equipment to help teachers, etc.[/quote]

This response is just ridiculous and certainly not true of our "FARMS" school.  Do you actually have first-hand experience with this school or are you just hypothesizing?

From my perspective, as a parent of children at a school with a high percentage of lower-income families, the main drawback is guilt.  Every time we get hit up to contribute items or money for parties, field trips, t-shirts, etc. I wonder if some of my kids' classmates are going to be able to participate.  As a kindergartener, my child told me one of her friends' parents said $7.50 was too much to pay for his daughter's end-of-the-year-picnic.  I suppose if you're earning $7.50/hour and your kid usually eats for free then it would be.

The other drawback is that the kids who get free/reduced lunch have to wait in the line and have less time for lunch.  That means they tend to eat together while the kids who bring their lunch tend to eat together and are often finished before they get their lunch and sit down.  This means the class often self-divides (at least at lunchtime) along the lines of higher and lower income students, giving them less time to develop friendships with other kids.

Our school has very high parent participation representing all factions, has a lot of after-school activities that are well-attended ranging from after-school classes and activities for the kids to evening events and activities for students and families.  Last I knew, we weren't hurting for playground or other equipment either, at least not more than any other elementary school.

This whole thread is full of condescending emails written by people who sound like they don't know what they're talking about.

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