Reply to APS Free and Reduced Meals

Forum Index » VA Public Schools other than FCPS

Reply to "APS Free and Reduced Meals - New Report"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]APS has nothing to do with housing. You don't like the huge FARMS rates at certain schools? Go advocate to the County Board that you want to see affordable housing around Jamestown and Tuckahoe.

Alternatively, go advocate in front of APS that you want forced busing to equalize FARMS rates across schools.

People love to complain about this issue, but they're unwilling to actually do anything about it.

[/quote]

Oh please. There have been many of us advocating on these issues to both the school and county boards for YEARS. and "forced busing" isn't the only way to improve socioeconomic diversity within the schools. Those of use who have been in this conversation WITH the TWO boards over the years have made various arguments and [b]proposed various ways[/b] forward. But people have only so much energy, time, and tolerance for the ignorance, politics, and denialism of both boards who find it easier to just point their fingers at each other.[/quote]

Such as? 
[/quote]

1. Ranked choice admissions process
2. Incremental steps with every boundary change requiring FRL% to be a primary consideration - implementing options that improve, not worsen, the situation
3. Ways to increase interaction between schools -- it's the social interaction with peers that's most important
4. Locating option programs (if we have to keep them) centrally and in locations easily accessed by transportation (car, bus) to encourage low-income families to opt in
5. Stop telling immigrant communities that boundary changes will "tear their community apart"
6. Stop acquiescing to the white affluent parents crying "walkability" or whining about passing a closer school to get to their assigned school
7.And imagine what impact could be made if people stopped all their crap arguments pushing back against distributing committed affordable housing geographically throughout the county - or at least stopping additional construction/addition of CAFs in the areas where the neighborhood schools already exceed 40% FRL.
8. Electing a school board and hiring administration who don't dismiss or deny the research demonstrating the academic (and future income prospects for generational poor) benefits of socioeconomic diversity, and who prioritize providing the best education for ALL students.

That's a start.
[/quote]

4. Already doing it. 
3. Agree. 
7. Totally agree. This actually would make the most impact. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of political will to make it happen. 
8. I think they already do that. 
5. Didn’t see that happening. 
1. & 2. This doesn’t work on a large scale for ES because almost everyone wants their young kids close to home. They don’t want super long bus rides for Kindergartners or long treks to pick them up from Extended Day after work. Plus, transportation is already a nightmare. 
6. Again, parents across the county value proximity. That’s not unique to white, affluent parents. 
[/quote]

Agree that Arlingtonians would never go for ranked choice for elementary but I personally would like to see it for secondary.

Cambridge MA does it - anyone have info on how the community there feels about it?
https://www.cpsd.us/departments/src/making_your_choices/about_controlled_choice[/quote]

Adding choice to our overcrowded high schools serves no process.  Better spent resources adding capacity. [/quote]

I'm the one suggesting ranked choice as a possible solution to the disparities, and I agree with you.
I believe the diversity is more important at the younger ages and levels and other things can happen with the high schools (like boundaries) to provide more balance. High schoolers are more independent and can deal with transportation issues more, and if Arlington would establish a real, true efficient high-service transportation system, it would be all the better for everyone.[/quote]

Good news. We have metro, metrobus, and art bus. 
[/quote]

Have you looked into how to get to the various high schools from different neighborhoods?  The system needs to be much more robust to be effective and get people to use it.
For example, our neighborhood is assigned to Wakefield.  There is no bus route that serves the length of George Mason between our neighborhood and the school. Taking public transit requires transferring buses or walking a mile to a direct ART route.  That's the first problem.  The second problem is the timing and frequency of bus service.  These things need to be made conducive to students getting to and from school in reasonable amounts of time, arriving and leaving at reasonable times, and having a way home if they need to leave early or on those stupid early release days or after sports or band practice, etc.

When people live more than 1/2 mile to metro, they are far less likely to use it. WHen their trip requires a transfer or multiple transfers, they are even more unlikely to use it. When the service doesn't get them where they need to go when they need to be there without excessive wait or lag times, they are almost certain not to use it.[/quote]

That is adding a few more ART routes, not "establishing a real, true efficient high-service transportation system". 
[/quote]

Again, have you really looked at the existing routes and schedules? And try figuring out routes, schedules, and time for travel from all the neighborhoods to all their assigned and option schools?

But great! if it's as simple as adding a few ART routes, then why don't we just do it then? Problem solved![/quote]

Yes, I have. Back when we were looking at some of the boundary options that pushed kids up above Langston Blvd. Have you looked it? We already have many E-W routes, Ballston is a hub. Need more N-S routes and getting into outer edges.

This is to get kids to the 5 HSs, not MS or ES. 
[/quote]

Yes, I have. From my house to our high school, it's more than 45 minutes and requires a transfer and additional walking. Lining up with start and end times/ early release days/ after school activity schedules is even worse.  Technically, between Metro and ART, the County is pretty well covered. But the frequency and times and # of transfers necessary for most people is not practical.  There's more to it than just having N/S and E/W routes.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics