Reply to The demise of McKinley ES (APS)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can someone summarize the “Save McKinley” argue as to why that’s better for the broader system, rather than just people in the McKinley walk zone?  I know that numbers put out so far show some enrollment imbalance, but that can be fixed through boundary refinement that would be necessary under any scenario.  Part of what made the Tuckahoe thing so alienating was that their argument was all about what was best for them, regardless of anyone else’s needs.  I think Nottingham’s activism was ultimately self-serving, but at least they made arguments why what was best for them was also better for the broader system.  What’s McKinley‘s argument for why anyone but McKinley people should care about this proposal to move ATS to McKinley?[/quote]

I'm curious about this, as well.  I really don't get it since so much of McKinley is actually in the Reed walk zone.  Is it No More Option Schools in the N or just We Want to Keep Walking Regardless Of The Greater Consequences?[/quote]

Let me try. That APS zone map that is supposedly driving this decision was misleading. If you look at where the population is today in Arlington (and where it is expected to grow), it is all south of Lee Highway. By clustering McKinley in Zone 1 and Taylor in Zone 2, APS masked the reality of where the population density currently sits and where the empty seats are really located. A better map would have been a heat map at the planning unit level so you can see where the number of kids are located OUTSIDE the walkable planning units. They also need to look at which planning units send a larger # of kids to private school.

When you go back and look at the planning unit level data that they released during the 2018 walk zone meetings, you can see where this is about to become a complete CF during the boundary drawing process. There are a lot of kids around Glebe, Ashlawn, and McKinley who aren't "walkable" because those roads are busier and therefore classified as off-limits to elementary kids without a crossing guard. And APS assumes in its analysis that there are no new crossing guards added to the system. But if you look at where kids actually live, you can see the need to leave more neighborhood seats in that area. Otherwise, you have to push kids upwards in a domino effect to fill the empty seats at Jamestown and Discovery. And that creates long skinny boundaries and probably at the end some walkers on the bus. The alternative is leaving Ashlawn, Reed, and Glebe overcrowded (and possibly also Tuckahoe in a few years, depending on what happens with those new townhomes and development around EFC) with empty seats at Discovery and Jamestown.

We need to leave breathing room in the areas of the County where we expect growth. That's the concern. [/quote]

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