Reply to Immersion program may leave gunston

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Is APS using this as a way to hurry along the attrition rate to remove the immersion program at the middle school age? [/quote]

No- this proposal came 'out' of the immersion community.  Go back in time to 2017 or so- it was along the time that they changed the way the admissions went for the immersion program- advocates formed a group that was supposed to be like the Montessori Action Committee- it was intended to advocate for immersion and strengthening the immersion program, and reducing the dropout rate.  The parent community strongly advocated at that time to move the MS program to Kenmore, saying that the major reason people left immersion was distance to Gunston.   The School Board was considering it- but the teachers objected, and the idea died.  I think the committee died too- it kind of got sidelined by the moving Key wildfires.   [/quote]

I have no basis for my opinion which is:  distance does have an impact on the decision to continue in immersion into middle school; however, the real or perceived difference in quality of middle schools likely has a bigger impact. The distance is an easy excuse for more northern Arlington families to not even contend with the decision. If immersion were truly that important to them, more of them would continue on despite the distance.

That said, moving the program closer to a location more accessible SHOULD result in more families (from the north) remaining in the program. If it does not, then the "cover" of "distance" is blown and it's really more about the actual middle schools. It will also be interesting to see if families in the SE part of the County - close to Gunston - show a drop in rentention to middle school because of the distance to Kenmore. I doubt quality of the schools would be the issue, since Kenmore, TJ, and Gunston are pretty similar.
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This might be wildly inaccurate and unfair, but as the parent of an early elementary child, my perception of the quality of Kenmore, TJ, and Gunston is not similar at all. At all. Immersion at Gunston has a good reputation but the middle school in general does not. The main thing I hear is that it’s overcrowded.[/quote]

Which one of the three do you hear the most positive about? [/quote]

I hear that Kenmore has a wonderful arts program but a lot of fights. But the kids we know who go there all seem to find their people. I hear that Jefferson has a dark, old building but a nice community and, again, the kids we know are happy. Gunston parents we know say things like, “it’s so very overcrowded, but you know, it’s fine for middle school. Middle school is always hard.”[/quote]

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