Reply to APS Fall boundary questionnaire

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]APS should have Chinese immersion not 2 Spanish immersion schools.

Drew can’t be fixed by getting rid of option schools.  Even though there were complaints in the past  many in the Drew zone still chose/ opted for Montessori and HB. Drew has such high poverty and ESL, community center attached, partying/ trash/shootings in lot, huge CAF scheduled for across the street!  It’s sad and it’s not right but Fairlington fought hard to stay at Abington. Majority of Douglas Park and Columbia Heights walked with their feet to private or opt out.

Even if it were a great school, it’s still not a neighborhood school for Douglas Park and Columbia Heights or South Fairlington. It’s not just busy streets that need to be crossed. The walk to Henry, Fleet, even Hoffman Boston is very different than getting to Drew.

Even this thread quickly derailed into talking about other things.  MONA wringing their hands about red lining and segregation can’t save this school. [/quote]

Chinese may become useful when they're 20 years older; but the second most frequently spoken language in the US is Spanish.  And there are far more Spanish-speakers in Arlington than Chinese.  Spanish is obviously more practical and feasible for most people.

Many in the Drew zone did opt to Montessori.  The HB (hoffman Boston) option was taken care of with the last re-districting.  
I don't believe Drew's English learner population is that high - certainly doesn't compare to Randolph, CS, or Barcroft?  The poverty level would have been much lower if APS had made the boundary it should have made the first time around.  That can still be remedied for Drew.  Eliminating option schools minimizes the ability to bail.  People may instead bail by moving; some going private; but not all would be able to afford private and if they instead band together and attend Drew, they'd transform the school.  That's what happened with other formerly high FRL schools that are now touted as highly desirable.

Most of Douglas Park is districted to Randolph; so Drew was never intended to be a neighborhood school for DP.  Regardless, a "neighborhood" school isn't defined by being located in the civic association boundaries; it's the school the neighborhood attends.  So, if DP were all districted to Drew, Drew would be its neighborhood school.  Just because a walk there crosses a busy road doesn't mean it wouldn't be a neighborhood school.  But, DP is split with most assigned to a different neighborhood school that is actually within its boundaries.[/quote]

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