Reply to How does HB Woodlawn lottery work?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kids went to ATS and later, only one applied and got into HB. We felt she was the perfect fit for the HB style of learning. 
Guess what? When your kid starts kindergarten, you aren't quite sure what learning style suits them best. ATS has traditional values and approach but my future HB kid didn't fit the mold. My DD would have suffered in 'regular' MS and HS. HB was perfect for her quirky, 'square peg in a round hole' personality. ATS prepped her for being more organized but HB allowed her to flourish and be herself. 
If HB admissions really stuck to the original intent of the program, we wouldn't be where we are. Instead, we have parents who clamor to get their child in for HB's seeming exclusivity when they would have been fine at other schools. 
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The exact same thing can be said about ATS. And I can’t believe how parents who seek both ATS and HB don’t understand how they show the rest of the world that it is about exclusivity and not academics. I mean, HB and ATS could not be further apart in pedagogy. But the pRENTS DONT KNOW OR CARE, BECAUSE ITS ABOUT PRESTIGE. [/quote]

The only prestige here is the slight of hand APS does by holding out the chance of something better, that so few people can have.

You can see it in how lopsided the applications for Woodlawn are. Yes, the parents at option schools are more likely to continue applying for option schools because they won previously. I know families who have had kids at two and even three option programs ([b]moving from Campbell, MPSA, or immersion to ATS[/b]). It's the same with those zoned to lower performing middle schools: they apply at much higher rates than those zoned to the top ones. Unfortunately, there's only so many slots per school, so most people will lose out. That doesn't mean people are out for "prestige" they just want what they think is the best option. As long as options exist, people will persue them. 
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There is no perceived prestige foe MPSA, Immersion, or Claremont. I see you left off ATS.

HB presitige is all about a tiny high school of 400 students compared to nearly 3000 at the closest neighborhood school and overcrowding at the remaining 2.

Why didn’t they make it the same size as AT is planned to be, 1500?[/quote]

Nope... plenty of people leave other option schools, even after getting in and attending, to go to ATS if they have the chance. Overall, people see option schools as better.

Agree that Woodlawn should be bigger. AT is shoehorned on to a little strip and isn't near as fancy looking.[/quote]

Enlarging HB to the size of the other high schools has been discussed many times over the years and it will never happen. It would simply continue to be a socio-economically segregated escape from the neighborhood schools, but much larger and thus undermining those comprehensive high schools. APS has a good balance at the moment among the neighborhood schools and options programs. [/quote]

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