Reply to Barcroft elementary/ south Arlington crisis

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You can't win, it seems.  So you want to raise your kids in a down to earth not über wealthy neighborhood in what is overall considered an excellent school district, but if you choose not to buy into the north or can't afford to, you're stuck having disproportionately poor school population because the political clout is in the north.  Also, although you're one of the people who intentionally moved into a neighborhood with diversity, everyone points the finger at you as being a racist when you point out that it's not ideal to have a school population comprised almost entirely of FARMs-eligible /English learners.  It's a great way to shut you up , because no one likes to be called a racist.  Even though numerous studies support your observation.  I've been there and while I think it's ridiculously unfair and you're almost certainly correct that you're getting screwed over by NIMBYs who decided to shift the burdens of affordable housing to your hood, it's also entirely predictable and consistent with the way things have always worked.  We eventually did some soul searching and realized for us, the best choice was to move to the North.  It's not that bad up here and I spend zero time worrying about schools, which has completely changed my life. [/quote]

The solution is actually pretty simple - all housing becomes market rate.  I don't support affordable housing at all even though realistically. I as a middle class person, benefit from affordable housing.  No, I don't actually qualify but I live in an apartment close by to low income housing. Developers are not keen to put in money to this area so my older apartment is market rate but at a cheaper market rate.

The policies simply continue to hurt the people they are supposed to help. There is no possible way a family of 4 with an income of $40K is ever going to get ahead by living in Arlington.  Never.  It's a shame really.  Sometimes, I think the liberals in the area just like to keep the low income families around to make themselves feel better. It's certainly not because they are concerned about these actual families and their ability to get out of poverty and move up.[/quote]

Actually,market rate is worse than committed affordable, from a schools perspective. The families in the low-cost market rate apartments are always moving around and the low-rent buildings attract a lot of...low-rent people. Lots of single people crowding into an apartment, etc. The families in committed affordable stay there for much longer periods, so less turnover in the classroom, and the housing situation is generally more safe and stable. [/quote]

But those low rent people are not as likely to have young children who will attend schools.

And the problem with staying for long periods - do you realize you are suggesting that  generational poverty is a good thing? And it's not. [/quote]

?? What are you talking about, with generational poverty? Do you know why generational poverty exists? Because of unstable family situations that prevent kids from completing their educations. I'm talking about staying for a period of a couple of years in one housing situation, which is absolutely good for children (to be in the same school over time and to form lasting relationships with teachers). This is not a new idea--Habitat for Humanity, for example, is all about getting people into a stable housing situation, in that case through homeownership. Of course the goal is that eventually people can earn enough to afford housing without supports, but that can take a long time. In the meantime, we don't want to screw over the next generation.

There are schools in Arlington where half the kids who are there in September are gone by June, and half the class is new. That absolutely has an impact on learning, for all of the kids. Getting more kids in stable housing--which is more likely when it is a committed affordable housing unit that offers other supports for families--is better than market rate. Most of the homeless kids in Arlington, of which there are a few hundred, were previously in market rate rental housing that their parents are no longer able to afford. [/quote]

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