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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We’re happy we took a spot at ATS.    APS maxes out class sizes at ATS and it’s possible our kids would have smaller classes at our neighborhood school based on planning factors.  But we like so many of the practices that it’s worth that trade off and longer commute time. Small amounts of nightly homework (less common in APS these days because “equity” even though ATS is really diverse too) , weekly reports from teachers, weekly assemblies that build community, expectations around student behavior. All of it adds up to a learning environment that serves its majority-minority, high EL and high farms population well.

All of this could be done in other neighborhood
Schools and some do. But overall APS moving towards watering down standards and expectations. Really happy we’re at ATS.

[/quote]

ATS is not high FARMS unless compared to the upper North schools.

If you do the math, it looks like the ONLY FARMS students come from VPI — so it seems likely FARMS family aren’t navigating the regular lottery.  The VPI has outreach at community centers food banks and shelters.

ATS should be an auto enrolled program, and then families can decline when they are selected rather than filtering for proactive parents. [/quote]

Nope, not anymore.  FARMS % is very high, and ever growing due to its set up and preference with the lottery.  The VPI program is very large with 3 classes,  and auto-admits all siblings of large under-resourced families.  These parents can be just as checked out, if they wanted, since they get help with everything, including the lottery.   There are several elementary schools in S.Arlington with lower FARMS.  However, ATS so far manages to have no achievement gap for these kids, nor any other groups of  kids, which is remarkable.  Expectations are high for everyone, especially academically, and personally I think the homework helps as well.  It fosters good habits from the beginning, and detects problems or lack of parental involvement early.   [/quote]

The majority of its FRL students coming from a quality preK program (VPI) is likely a significant contributing factor to the narrower achievement gap at ATS. Something other schools with the highest FRL%s like Randolph and Carlin Springs do not benefit from.[/quote]

Both Randolph and Carling Springs have VPI programs.

APS website says VPI programs at the following schools:

Neighborhood schools:

Abingdon, Alice West Fleet, Ashlawn, Barcroft, Barrett, Carlin Springs, Dr. Charles R. Drew, Hoffman-Boston, Innovation, Long Branch, Oakridge, Randolph

Option Schools:

Arlington Traditional School
Campbell
Escuela Key and Claremont (Dual Language English and Spanish Immersion) program. Note: Families can only apply to ONE Dual Language School based on their assigned neighborhood school.[/quote]

My point is: the majority of underprivileged/ELL students enrolled in each of those schools do not come from VPI. Whereas, ATS naturally has a lower percentage of those students overall to begin with and a significant portion of those that are there come from the VPI program.[/quote]

To add: what is the "achievement gap" between the FRL and non FRL students in the immersion programs v. ATS? Does partially learning in their native language impact the gap? If so, does it do so equally as ATS or vice versa?  What % of ATS' FRL students come from the VPI program v. % of Claremont or key or any other school?[/quote]

I can't find APS data on achievement by FRL status. But on every other subgroup metric, ATS outperforms immersion. Both are self-selected via lottery. Looking at the equity dashboard, ATS has 35% EL, claremont has 32%, and Key has 35%. But ATS outperforms both schools by huge margins on every public measure (SOL, DIBEL, Math Inventory).

All three schools also have VPI. Of the 3 schools, Claremont has the largest ratio of VPI/total enrollment, then ATS, then key.

What point are you trying to make? That fewer kids are in immersion VPI and that explains why ATS is leaps and bounds higher in achievement? Not true. Claremont has the most kids in VPI relative to their size.

ATS has less EL? Also not true. ATS is as high as Key and  higher than Claremont.

[b]ATS has more engaged parents than immersion? All three are lottery schools. [/b]

So why does ATS run laps around other lottery schools? Look at the data for montessori too. Highest ration of pre-k and lowest number of EL of the option schools. [/quote]

[b]There is an outreach program to Spanish speaking families for the immersion schools. [/b]They track them down because they need the ratios. There is zero outreach for ATS. It’s mentioned in a presentation and has a lottery website. [/quote]

This is not true.  APS does equal advertising for all choice programs.  The PTA might work a bit harder to let families know about certain programs, but APS treats them equally.[/quote]

Sorry this is true, it was part of the literature handed out about how important 50/50 was and how moving it would kill it. [/quote]

What are you talking about?  Did you get a random flyer one day from the group opposing the move of Esceula Key and you have somehow made up this story about APS doing special outreach to Hispanic families?  Huh?  I know that APS treats all choice schools equally in "adverstising" because I've had that conversation with people who work at APS.  [/quote]

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