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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Probably some $$ to be saved by getting rid of H-B and converting it to a regular school.[/quote]

How would it save money? Right now it has the regular complement of staff at the same staffing ratios as other schools so its operating budget is no different than a "regular" program.  And where would you put the hundreds of kids being sent back to their home middle and high schools? The only potential savings is buses since it is countywide, and they don't purchase any buses for it, they just run 6 buses for two extra routes each day, plus three sports buses go to the comprehensive high schools at the end of the day.

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It can become a neighborhood school, therefore eliminating the need for buses.

Also, [b]are HB’s staffing ratios similar to the other overcrowded high schools[/b]?

Let’s get rid of ALL option schools. All of them.[/quote]

uh, yeah

only Montessori gets away with having extra staff [/quote]

[b]Montessori does not get extra staff. First of all, any prek class must have second adult[/b], so unless you want to eliminate prek the argument is moot. [b]Second, the pedagogy requires second adult so lead teacher can teach individually or small group in the moment.[/b] It is individualized learning, which many parents prefer to the classic teacher lecturer. If you accept the pedagogy you must accept second adult. There are actually many ways to save money in Montessori that APS doesn't do: 1. Cut textbook allotments, they are unnecessary in the Montessori hands-on method. Cut tech allotments too - Montesso kids don't need iPads or whatever latest IT is as core instructional instrument. What you see as "extra" - because you don't understand the pedagogy or don't care to - could be better paid for within the existing budget now. Then there is the fact that APS Montessori brings in $1.4M in tuition, which goes into gen fund, ANd the fact that MPSA pupil costs are below many neighborhood schools such as elite Jamestown. APS Montessori should be expanded to monetize on the huge wait list and to leverage the below-average pupil cost...oh, and to give parent what they want. [/quote]

Your statements are contradictory.  Having a second "adult" in every classroom is "extra staff" regardless of how you want to move the dollars around to pay for it.[/quote]

Montessori does not get extra staff. First of all, any prek class must have second adult, so unless you want to eliminate prek the argument is moot. Talking about grades 1-5 which have a full-time aide in the class which no other elementary schools have for regular classrooms.
[b]- the whole Montessori program brings in $1.4M in tuition revenue. Yes, you could eliminate the program – which is what you do if you eliminate the aides, because then the teachers cannot individualize lessons per the pedagogy – but if you did that then APS is also missing that revenue. And paying the costs of sending kids to neighborhood elementary schools, roughly half of which cost more on per-pupil, so that makes no monetary sense.[/b]

Second, the pedagogy requires second adult so lead teacher can teach individually or small group in the moment. It is individualized learning, which many parents prefer to the classic teacher lecturer. If you accept the pedagogy you must accept second adult. OK....so they do get extra staff.
[b]- that is the program. Any program with extra staff should absolutely be cut the same based on your reasoning. SO, SPED, teen parents, mentally disabled, who else goes? If you don’t like it, see point above about killing the program and creating the extra costs that will be incurred permanently in the budget. [/b]

There are actually many ways to save money in Montessori that APS doesn't do: 1. Cut textbook allotments, they are unnecessary in the Montessori hands-on method. Cut tech allotments too - Montesso kids don't need iPads or whatever latest IT is as core instructional instrument. What you see as "extra" - because you don't understand the pedagogy or don't care to - could be better paid for within the existing budget now. Doesn't offset the annual cost of 20 full time classroom aides
[b]- The combination of tuition raised, less IT spending, less textbook spending, and lower cost per-pupil does indeed offset the cost of aides, according to budget presentations made to board when Montessori was split from Drew. If you have different data, explain. Or, if you simply don’t care that the program is not actually more expensive, then please say so.[/b]

Then there is the fact that APS Montessori brings in $1.4M in tuition, which goes into gen fund, that covers the cost of teaching 3 and 4 years olds with higher incomes, which should not be subsidized by taxpayers. Taxes cover K-12 education and VPI. That tuition money doesn't pay for "Montessori," it covers the cost of teaching the individual preschool kids who would otherwise be in private preschools. Yes, it goes into the "general fund" because each school does not have its own bank account, but they money tuition for upper income preschoolers to cover their costs
[b]- Please explain how you know the $1.4M raised only covers upper-income. Have data? The facts are the Montessori program charges tuition on a sliding scale, and it was designed this way explicitly for the upper-income to subsidize the lower-income students in the program. Again, the upper income kids financially carry the lower. That is according to the APS policy on Montessori tuition itself. That policy further requires two-thirds of incoming primary slots be given to children from families who income is at or less than 80% of local average.
I understand you simply may not like Montessori and you are making some kind of conspiratorial-elite complaint, but the facts on the ground paint a different picture. Again, if you have different data or alternative facts, please explain.[/b]

ANd the fact that MPSA pupil costs are below many neighborhood schools such as elite Jamestown. If you are looking at the actual school budget, that is based on things like teacher salaries that are based on tenure and how actual special ed students there are in the building, etc. If Montessori has more lower-cost teachers and more newer administrators, their average salaries will be lower which can bring down the average per-student cost. It isn't because of anything special the school is doing, it just happens to be the mix of staff at that school that year. Also, depending on school enrollment and whether a school hits the tipping point for more staff per the planning factors, the average cost per student in a building can look high or low.
[b]-	Wow, now you’re truly just making stuff up. You’re just trying to dismiss the fact that the Montessori school is in the middle of the list of Arlington elementary schools when it comes to cost per-pupil, and that includes its aides. Your fantasy “what if” scenario aside, please note this cost this does NOT include the $1.4M tuition raised because that is not applied to Montessori and instead goes to general fund…which means the true cost is event less.[/b][i]

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