Reply to Why Does Van Ness Elementary School Not Have a Boundary

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It makes sense for Van Ness Elementary School to have a boundary where South Capitol Street is the boundary to the West, the SE/SW Freeway is the boundary to the north, and the Anacostia River is the boundary to the South and East.   There are hardly any kids from the Capitol Riverfront area attending Amidon-Bowen, so it won't hurt the population at Amidon-Bowen at all by giving Van Ness its own boundary.

Except that many kids who remain in Amidon-Bowen's boundary will try to lottery in to Van Ness (which is quite accessible to all of them, and probably closer than A-B for many).  That will drain Amidon.  And some folks who want to get into Amidon OOB will rank Van Ness higher, especially if they are coming from east of the river and have to go right past Van Ness on the way to Amidon.

I would MUCH rather see an Amidon/Van Ness cluster.  Let Van Ness have all the PK3-K kids for the whole current Amidon-Bowen boundary, and let Amidon have all the kids in grades 1-5.  This would provide greater economic and racial diversity, provide a strong feeder to Jefferson, and allow each school to focus on a smaller age range.  They could stagger start times for families with kids in different grades.

I know there are some folks already planning for a bus route that would link Van Ness, Amidon, and Jefferson to make the trip easier.  This would also help with some of the Capitol Quarter residents who say they don't want their kids crossing South Capitol (never mind the fact that the ANC just asked for an additional crosswalk there, DDOT would have crossing guards, you're not going to let your 4-year-old walk to school alone no matter what street they have to cross, and plenty of families in SW will cross S. Cap if their kids get into Van Ness OOB).  [/quote]

So why would parents of Amidon-Bowen students take their children out of Amidon-Bowen to try to get into Van Ness Elementary when Amidon-Bowen is more convenient?   It's not like Van Ness Elementary will have a track record of success when it opens.  What possible reason would parents of students want to send their kids to Van Ness as opposed to Amidon-Bowen?   What compelling reason do you have to go to Van Ness?[/quote]

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