Reply to Who said there isn't a North-South divide?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP's above nailed it all right. It is a whole different world in S.A schools.

I challenge any N.A. parent who disagrees to come to a S.A. school and check out the activities and PTA expenses. We are at a title I S.A. school. We have a little money to spend, but not much. And, we spend money on things like coat drives and basics for some of the families. Rather than after school enrichment, kids are taking extra SOL preps. Those who don't need it don't get access to enrichment those days because the school won't do anything unless ALL kids can do it.

Our classrooms are filled with old furniture. Our yard is weeds. All of our equipment in the class is old. We don't do plays or independent projects. Things are really basic here.  [/quote]

What would you like to see happen? Bus some of the poor kids from your neighborhood to schools in the north? Force some of the kids in the north to come south? Move option programs around? Share PTA money? Give an opportunity to transfer your kids to Jamestown?

Serious question.

[/quote]

Moving option schools around is the most realistic option, and the best, IMHO. It's non-coercive. The idea is to create integrated, desirable schools as an alternative to the segregated schools ... besides the value of the particular instructional model (immersion, montessori, expeditionary learning, etc.) it would give NA kids exposure to the increasingly diverse future they will have to navigate as adults; and it would give SA student a view of what high performing schools and peers are actually like, not to mention the immense resource that is a critical mass of engaged parents. The key is to make it more attractive than a neighborhood school for a range of families.

I think APS wanted to do that, to the extent that was politically possible. Unfortunately, it seems like NA parents put the kibosh on that, at least for the time being. For whatever self-interested reason, moving around option schools was squashed a month ago. SA doesn't have that kind of mojo so it's no point denying it was a north Arlington thing. Will be interesting to see if it reemerges in a year or two or if it's just dead.[/quote]

First, N.A. families did not "put the kibosh" on the location review, that was suspended because the staff didn't have the bandwidth to move that process through properly while also dealing with all of the revisions of the CIP. Odds are they're going to at least try to reopen it before Reed opens, they've made that very clear.

Second, moving around option schools is only helpful to a very limited portion of the population, and helps them at the expense of those left behind. We've seen that in spades in S.A. already, where UMC families disproportionately opt out of their neighborhood schools for option programs and neighborhood transfers, leaving their neighborhood schools with even higher FARMS and ESOL percentages. Even with moving the schools around and taking other steps to make them more accessible, there is every reason to believe this trend will continue, even if to a lesser degree.[/quote]

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