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]If they moved there and then advocated for things to reduce the FARMS rate (e.g., no more AH in the area, relocating option programs to break up poverty clusters), I would respect that. But when you buy in a 70% FARMS school hoping you'll back-door into a "good" school via the option lottery or neighborhood transfer, don't throw a temper tantrum about the unfairness when it doesn't pan out and then demand that the county give you additional options for getting out of your own neighborhood. I have zero sympathy for that.[/quote]

I really don't think this perspective is fair and I'm rather tired of hearing/reading it from so many posters on this forum and elsewhere.  Not everyone who does not qualify for FRL can afford the most expensive neighborhoods in north Arlington.  Or, they have a combination of priorities they want when purchasing a house and making a home for their family - not just the school.  Like, size of house, condition of house, size of yard, availability at the time they are purchasing and budget, convenience to public transit, access to major roads for commute to work.  Besides, not everyone was born and raised here and knows everything about every school before they buy a home; or have a naive understanding/vision of what academic sacrifices they might actually be making for their child.  Not all of us bought here banking on option schools.  We bought where we could find a home we like enough and could afford, under the impression that "all Arlington schools are good."  And, with few exceptions, they are -- just not equally good.

Secondly, [b]"they" ARE advocating but the SB doesn't give a crap [/b]and the AH advocates and providers have such a hold on the CB that "they" can't break through and everyone calls them racists when they try.  South Arlington residents can't win no matter what - vitriol and accusations when they speak up, told they only have themselves to blame when they don't speak up.[/quote]

What are "they" advocating for? What is "their" position on the upcoming boundary process? So far all I see is more elementary option programs and county-wide busing, neither of which is feasible at this point in time (or ever, in the case of the latter). Oh, and one person saying we should reopen the location review and move the immersion schools to Barcroft/Carlin Springs, which would be a good idea to look at further but it's kind of funny to be treating it as something "they" wanted all along considering that while the process was going on, "they" called the NA folks who also supported that plan racists who didn't want brown kids bused into 22207.

You have to admit, it's a little hard to figure out what "we're" supposed to be supporting "them" on here.[/quote]

Not sure why you think there is one person, or even one group of people acting as a bloc, commenting in here. Who is calling for countywide busing? And as for increasing options, I haven't mentioned that yet, I only talked about placement and admissions policies. However, now that you mention it, if enrollment keeps going up, we may need to increase the number of option schools to keep pace and maintain the current level of access to those highly sought-after programs. Not sure that we're at that point yet, but we will be eventually. I think Key has to move. I have always said so. That area needs a neighborhood school and the program should be located closer the denser populations of native Spanish speakers. Carlin Springs makes more sense than Barcroft. That doesn't mean 22207 is off the hook. I think they're still going to get an option school, simply because there will be too many seats nearby. I don't think any school in that quadrant makes sense as an option program for any other reason. [/quote]

So you think the Henry folks moving to Fleet will be totally cool with Fleet being 50% FARMS? Um, okay. Sure. Good luck with that.[/quote]

Not all of the Henry folks are likely to move to Fleet. The likely boundary, based on walk zone, would actually move out the poorest Henry PUs and move in new UMC PUs to the new ES, which would also hurt Barcroft's balance. The current Henry parents don't want that. [b]I think they'd be fine at around 50% fr/l, since they were there just a few short years ago, and were close to that level when they were named a Blue Ribbon school. 50% across South Arlington schools, plus or minus 10 percent, would be okay. Not perfect, but better for the majority of schools. [/b]
  [/quote]

I don't think that's true.  PH was decreasing in FRL% and lost Title I status the year after its Blue Ribbon recognition.  It was not close to 50% at the time - unless you consider 40% "close."  I don't believe 50% plus or minus 10 in either direction is ok.  That means up to 60% is ok, and that's too high -- see Barcroft and Barrett.  50% is too high, for that matter.  Plus or minus ten from the countywide average of 31% would be ok, though I think 20% is actually low.  30-40% range seems to be a very effective balance if you look at academic performance along with parents' comments about their experiences in schools like Oakridge, Henry, and Long Branch.  And Key and Claremont. And W-L.  I think 20 should be a minimum for an Arlington school with current demographics; 25% would be better; 30% would be ideal because it is most closely reflective of systemwide demographics.  [/quote]

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