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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]True, and I’m not even saying some of those planning units shouldn’t have to leave Henry. But Henry did agree to move and it agreed under a promise. That’s all. Things have changed and I get it. Henry isn’t “special.” But also Henry isn’t racist. If you’ve been there, if you knew the people, you would know how untrue and offensive that is. That’s all. It bothers me a lot that people are acting like it is. I also think it’s unfair to assume the desire to keep Henry’s most diverse planning units reeks of white privilege. Henry wants the 50 percent FARM to keep diversity. Drew wants them to reduce it. [/quote]

First, there was no promise. Second, no, Henry parents aren't racist but how "woke" do you think the person who built your 700k house was, 70 years ago? Probably not very, and you are benefitting from that years later. Is your goldilocks level of diversity worth the creation of a school with an 85% poverty rate? You tell me. You cannot argue for one without recognizing the other as the consequence. That's life. You don't get to wash your hands of it. You lobbied the SB, and Drew's predicament is the result of catering to your loud, UMC voices. And by the way ... no one at the Henry "community" has said boo over the last ten years as the farms rate went from 60 to 30. It was only when UMC kids might get sent to Drew that this diversity argument got raised. So pardon me if I call BS.[/quote]

Actually, I commented to APS that I think they shouldn't create an 85% FARMs school at Drew. But I don't know that the best and only way to solve that is by picking off part of Henry. I would like to see more options. And have more numbers.

You don't know crap about the Henry community, though. People there have been very upset watching this number drop. A lot of us are worried it will drop to 20% 10 years from now. That's why we care about trying to keep what we have. If Drew gets these PPUs, what is Fleet getting instead? The planning units in Alcova Heights aren't as diverse as the ones south of the Pike. And then that also takes wealth away from Barcroft, etc. All of this cascades. So to have a real conversation, we all need more data.

I understand that schools work best if the FARMs rate is around 30-40%. So you can sneer and say Goldilocks, but the fact is that Henry is a diverse school that works really well right now. It's not ridiculous that people want to protect that.[/quote]

The PUs S of the Pike are gentrifying and will further, especially if they are spend to Fleet and if they do build a 4th neighborhood HS with a similar demographic. You don't want to go below 20%, then you need at least one CAF in your boundary. Either lobby for one to be built or ask for the Gilliam Place PU from Alcova to be carved out into your boundary. Leave the other Alcova PU at Barcroft. [/quote]

So now you're chopping up a neighborhood without asking them what they think about it?  I live in Alcova and I don't think I like siphoning off one building of our neighborhood, and I certainly don't like what I can hear everyone saying already "The wealthier residents of Alcova don't want THOSE kids and are happy to send them off to a different school."  Alcova isn't Fairlington, or even Barcroft Apartments.  It's much smaller, like Arlington Heights.  Whatever school gets us should get us all.  That said, it does make sense on every level for the PUs 5th street and north to attend Fleet.  That section is unfortunately physically cut-off from the southern part of the neighborhood and the residents mainly from 5th and 6th streets recently fought-off an opportunity to create some connection with a bike/walking path.  Getting a better sense of neighbors and connection between the two sections of Alcova has been challenging and with limited success for a very long time.[/quote]

LOL you're claiming solidarity with a development your neighborhood opposed and doesn't even have a roof yet? Cmon dude, don't be so transparent. Not everyone can go to Fleet.
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Our neighborhood did not oppose the development - many lamented the loss of a church and the loss of some peaceful green space facing the Pike; but Alcova did not "oppose" Gilliam per se.  I don't care about going to Fleet.  I said whichever school gets Alcova should get all of Alcova.  I care about carving out one building in a small neighborhood - an affordable housing building - and telling it to go to a different neighborhood school than the rest of us have been attending for a very long time.  What could possibly say "we don't want you around" more than that?  So yeah, solidarity with our future neighbors.[/quote]

That's what they're doing with some of the Abingdon PUs they are sending to Drew, and those have actual children already living in them. And you seem fine with the units at the N end being sent away from the rest of the neighborhood. How is this different? [b]Oh, right, you want to use them to move over to Fleet yourself. [/b]

Honestly, we're going to have to do more of these carve-outs as we develop. Infill developments that bring hundreds of kids with them can't just be absorbed by the handful of schools where they are occurring, and if they can help balance schools, that are just as near as the other (in this case, closer) to maintain diversity while it's being lost, I think it's a positive for everyone. People who don't even live there yet aren't going to get offended. Please. And if they are, is a temporary offense more grave than keeping kids zoned to highly segregated fr/l schools that isn't even in their neighborhood? The kids are getting on a bus, the question is do the go E or W with all the neighbors on their block? [/quote]

As I stated earlier, I don't care about Fleet.  I don't care if Alcova moves to Fleet or stays at Barcroft as a neighborhood.  I do care about the FRL numbers; but honestly don't think, with Gilliam Place, Alcova will add or subtract significantly from either school in either direction.  And I never expressed support for pulling a few PUs away from any other particular neighborhood, either.  And I do not support the current proposal.
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