Reply to APS Families--Pls email county and school boards by Tues. 5/24!!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a current APS family zoned for W-L, and I didn't get one of these surveys. Not sure why not. I hate the idea of a 9th grade academy. Part of the high school experience is meeting and spending time with older kids, seeing their achievements. My kid doesn't need an even bigger pool of kids in the same grade to get lost in. [/quote]

But, as always, parents should consider this option -- a 9th grade academy -- within the actual decision set available now, instead of comparing it to some ideal situation that doesn't and can't exist. We all want a great experience for our kids. But some of the choices we are actually facing include the following:

--massively overcrowded schools where kids go in shifts (some going from 7-2, some from 8-3, some from 9-4) and spots in sports, band etc. become exceedingly hard to get
--redistricting
--requiring students to spend a semester or a year doing online or offcampus study
--year round school (kids go 3 out of 4 quarters a year, so 3/4 of kids are in school at any given time)
--private school or moving out of Arlington

If those are the choices, doesn't a 9th grade academy seem like one of the better options? [/quote]

Seriously, these options are insane and unacceptable, which is why the county should find us the land for a new high school. [/quote]

I don't disagree, but here's the other point of view --

There are hardly any large parcels of land left in the county, and lots of potential uses for them including open space, affordable housing, infrastructure support (fire stations, bus maintenance/storage), etc. And we can only borrow so much money a year. So, given that:

a) The vast majority of people in Arlington don't have kids, and since most new housing in Arlington is high density, the proportions are likely to stay that way 
b) School enrollment trends, while definitely very high, [b]are likely a bubble and will taper off again in 10 years[/b]
c) Building a high school will tie up a huge parcel of land for 50 years and take up $150 million of bond money over 20 years, both of which could be used for MANY other high value, high priority items 
d) There are all these other options for dealing with capacity, even if parents don't like them

Why build another high school?[/quote]

I don't believe these numbers are a bubble. They are reflective not only of a population increase due to the number of Millennials having kids now, but also of the trend for families to move into closer-in suburbs or the city itself, prioritizing proximity to jobs and better commutes to the lure of the suburban experience. Arlington is the place where people of child bearing ages who aren't comfortable living in a true city like DC but who don't like suburban sprawl either are going to chose. We're a quasi-urban community, with decent commutes to both Tysons and DC. There is no chance Arlington become less attractive to young families, unless you decide shift or year-round scheduling is the way to go. So maybe this is the real plan? Reduce demand with terrible schools?

We have to build another HS. Scrap HB if we can't make it bigger and use some of that money towards a new comprehensive HS. Want more open spaces, or land for bus maintenance/storage? And I'm sorry, but if the county uses ANY county-owned land to add housing, without building the schools and fields for the kids who will live in this housing or the kids who already reside here, they are going to have one heck of a pissed off electorate. 
[/quote]

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