Reply to APS - Elementary school -who is opting for virtual in 2021/22

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[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][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.[/quote]

There was no hinting.  The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.[/quote]

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping  walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there. [/quote]

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.[/quote]

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch.  There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.[/quote]

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent[/quote]

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station  early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility  wouldn't count on it. 
[/quote]

What elementary kids are going to metro to school???    I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system.  Why?  There is a need for this?  [/quote]

The metro is also a mile away and it’s not a pedestrian friendly walk.  No one is doing that.[/quote]

Lots of people walk that route from the Tuckahoe neighborhood every day to commute to work.[/quote]

That's great.  We're talking about 5-11 year olds doing the walk.  Not adults commuting to work.  [/quote]

Actually, we are talking about commuting adults.  See the post above about parents needing to use public transportation for extended day pick-ups, parent teacher conferences, etc.  Also, the 52 ART bus goes from metro to a bus stop at the corner of Sycamore and 26th, which cuts out most of the walk.[/quote]

With extended day pick up, the kid is with them one way right?  But ok, the need is really the parents needing to get to the school using the metro.  These parents have enough time and flexibility in their job to take time off to ride the metro, walk to school (or wait for a bus...would take longer but ok), go to the school event or meeting, get back to the metro, ride the metro back to work.   This is a multi-hour affair at this point.  And yet these very same people don't have cars.

I'd like to meet this population.

You're acting like this is Manhattan.  [/quote]

DP.  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you have never ridden an ART bus.[/quote]

Not only have I ridden an ART bus, through my work I have a lot of knowledge of bus ridership stats and the demographics and housing options along the R-B corridor.

But keep on acting like there is this massive population of people who would behave the way you are suggesting in this part of the County.[/quote]

Not PP, but I think they are suggesting that if they relocate a school that’s currently in south Arlington, where people who don’t have cars DO commute by bus, even to and from their school events, they could continue to send their child to this particular school IF it were relocated to a place with public transportation in place. As with all other option schools, over time, the population would likely shift to more heavily reflect its location. New families in the neighborhood where Campbell is currently located may not consider it and may not apply. But at least with the consideration of public transportation, current families might not be forced out of the option school due to lack of transportation if the program were relocated. [/quote]

This is a great point.  I see this.

I also think this exactly points up one of APS's problem.  They focus heavily on and appease current families and then the rest of us are left holding the bag when those families are gone.   Make more strategic long-term decisions.  Down the road I continue to think yet another option school in this part of the County does not make sense.[/quote]

For all of the issue spotting you’re doing, I don’t believe you’ve proposed a better alternative to the capacity issues APS is facing at the elementary level over the next 5-10 years, other than “don’t touch my neighborhood school.”[/quote]

My kids don't go to Tuckahoe.  Or any of the other schools in play.  Yes, I'm apparently a total unicorn and think beyond my own nose.

Things I would explore:
Don't feel obligated to just move an existing option school program from south to north. 
Campbell is freed up for neighborhood and get rid of the program. 
Go to one immersion program more centrally located (already done) and invest in that building and free up Claremont
Explore old VHC site on Carlin Springs
Evaluate whether Montessori still makes sense for the school district- can something more comprehensive be done at Career Center site K-12 that would be high quality and draw families.  
Don't just move the existing pieces around the game board.  Attempt to have some vision.

[/quote]

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