Reply to Who said there isn't a North-South divide?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So whats the solution -- should we move to an all lottery model?  You rank your top 4 choices and you get what you get?[/quote]

Eliminate all choice school options in SA.  Make everyone go to their neighborhood school.[/quote]

No, we've got enough equity to move, and plenty of income to afford private, as do all of our neighbors. Force is not likely to help. People who wouldn't send their kids to the neighborhood schools by choice won't go to the neighborhood schools by force. Some that are better integrated and trending in the right direction with test scores might stand a chance, but the ones that have only one SFH neighborhood and then hundreds of units of AH within the walk zone, where over 70% of the students within the physical zone are living below the poverty line, won't ever change unless the neighborhoods themselves change or the boundaries change significantly. The vast majority of UMC professionals will not accept sending their kids to schools without adequate capital, both financial and social. Do I like that this is the truth? No. But it is the truth. It's a fantasy to believe differently. I think most people living in SA want truly diverse schools, and that is why the option schools are so popular. Until they perceive high poverty schools as being just as able to address the needs and abilities of their more affluent children, they will find alternatives. They will because they can. Simple as that. [/quote]

Thank you for a thoughtful response.  Here's the thing: there aren't enough votes in SA to ever make the county go for the lottery model.  It's a non-starter.  If SA wants to fix this problem, they will likely need to fix it themselves within their confines.  You won't convince the overwhelming majority of voters to give up what they've got.[/quote]

I also don't advocate for an all-lottery model. I think the thoughtful placement of option schools, coupled with admissions policies aimed at maintaining diversity where it exists and encouraging it where it does not, and option programs that appeal to a wide variety of parents, in combination with neighborhood schools, is pragmatic solution. It's integration, through strategy and choice. Nobody is forced anywhere, everyone has an assigned school, even if it's not the one across the street. It's not perfect, but I think its better than doing nothing. [/quote]

I agree with this. I just wish I had some faith that APS would prioritize integration at all. When they’ve had the option to make a better choice for the entire community, they’ve really blown it. Busing across the county? No. Looking at boundaries in a strategic way? Yes. [/quote]

What kind of strategic boundaries are you envisioning that would solve this problem? People keep tossing this out as the obvious solution, and yet no one ever seems to detail where those boundaries would be. Sure, you can stretch the Ashlawn boundary across 50 (and I support that), but that only addresses a small part of the problem.[/quote]

Arlington forest is the most recent and obvious example of not doing the right thing. 
I personally agreed with breaking up the poverty clusters and placing choice schools  at Barcroft or Randolph. I know people think it’s terrible to have poor kids walk, but I think an integrated classroom is a big enough benefit.[/quote]

I'm not asking about past decisions on high school zones, I'm talking about the upcoming process of redrawing elementary zones, which are substantially smaller and more numerous than high school zones and thus have different challenges. If you got to draw the boundaries this fall, what "strategic" choices would you make to break up poverty?[/quote]

I literally just wrote that I would eliminate at least 1 neighborhood school from one of the most concentrated pockets. That’s a start. I look forward to working with an online boundary tool this fall. It will be interesting to see the numbers. [/quote]

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