Reply to APS Elementary Location Working Group 4/12

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here is the thing about Campbell and ATS- a lot of there 'hidden' appeal is that they are small.  A lot of other words are used to describe this-- warm, nurturing, principal knows everyone, every class does a play that everyone watches, individualized instruction- etc.  But what it boils down to is a small school allows for things like this.  But in both cases that is not their spoken focus.  The spoken focus of Campbell is 'expeditionary.'  The spoken focus of ATS is 'traditional.'  I think the mood of the staff right now, and to a lesser extent the SB- is that its not fair to have a tiny program that very few can get into.  We need to make these programs available to meet demand.  So, if they have an appeal beyond their size, lets grow them. If the appeal is that they are protected from overcrowding, etc- that's not fair.[/quote]

I think this is true for any ES. Let’s not build 750-seat mega elementary schools. That’s not good for any student. [/quote]

Unfortunately Arlington’s population outstrips available APS land for more schools.  The schools have to be big at this point.  [/quote]

Not if we take back the old schools - community centers. We have options, even if we don't choose to use them. 
[/quote]

That is not in the school board’s hands.  Until school proponents rise up in numbers and resolve equal to or bigger than that of the anti-school proponents, the county isn’t going to hand over any community centers.  I once served as a quadrant rep for my neighborhood’s civic association. That experience was EYE OPENING.  The retiree contingent was determined, driven, and organized.  They were holding on to what they had, and every meeting was largely an exercise in locating and securing further properties with historic designations so that they couldn’t be altered.

Meanwhile parents of young kids quibble over the few schools we do have rather than mobilizing to shift priorities at the county level.[/quote]

DP. Let's cut the retirees a little bit of a break. When I go into those community centers, I see plenty of seniors using the exercise facilities there, I remember seeing so many of them working in the art studios at Lee when my kids took classes there, etc. There may be some exceptions and efficiencies that can be created, but for those who are aging in Arlington (who are just as important as those of us with young kids), research has shown that having low-cost and accessible social/community outlets is a huge factor in maintaining health and well-being. I'm not interested in being thrown under the bus when I'm 70, so let's not do it to them either.[/quote]

DP, but there has to be a balance. Did the retirees during the baby boom refuse to pay higher taxes and set aside land for schools? Because we have more kids in APS now than during the baby boom, and all I hear from my Boomer neighbors are complaints about rising taxes/assessments, traffic, and lack of parking. Arlington is not really the place it once was, and it's not the best place to retire given the HCOL, increasing urbanism (which is an unsettling change for many long time Arlington residents). Unless they have family here, they should take their housing windfall and move to places better suited for retirees. Or stay, and do for our kids what the previous generations did for you: build the schools. [/quote]

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