Anonymous
Post 02/22/2023 08:31     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:Nobody mentioned it, I think, but VPI is for poor people.

ELIGIBILITY

The child has to be 4 years old on or before September 30th.
The 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines are used to determine financial eligibility.
Families with income at or below the values in the green column are eligible.
Example: A family of 4 that earns up to $60,000 annually qualifies.
Families with income at or below the values in the yellow column may also qualify, based on local eligibility criteria, and are encouraged to apply.
Example: A family of 4 that earns up to $105,000 may also qualify based on local eligibility criteria.
For questions about income eligibility, call 703-228-8000 (select option 3) or email


Yes, we all know this but we are polite enough to not need to point it out, Anna Delvey.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2023 08:29     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Nobody mentioned it, I think, but VPI is for poor people.

ELIGIBILITY

The child has to be 4 years old on or before September 30th.
The 2023 Federal Poverty Guidelines are used to determine financial eligibility.
Families with income at or below the values in the green column are eligible.
Example: A family of 4 that earns up to $60,000 annually qualifies.
Families with income at or below the values in the yellow column may also qualify, based on local eligibility criteria, and are encouraged to apply.
Example: A family of 4 that earns up to $105,000 may also qualify based on local eligibility criteria.
For questions about income eligibility, call 703-228-8000 (select option 3) or email
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:22     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kids can walk to ATS, Cardinal, and Ashlawn. We did not apply to ATS, but I have friends who got in to ATS and would have gone to Tuckahoe and Nottingham respectively. Now that our kids are half-way through elementary, I will note that my kids’ friends are mostly walking / biking distance or a 3 min drive. The ATS parents drive all over town for play dates. I’ve also developed a network of mom friends in my neighborhood with whom I can carpool and trade favors like walking kids to school if I have an early meeting or picking up a sick kid from school because I work at home and their parent is in DC. My friends who chose ATS don’t really know their neighbors with similar age kids and their friendships are tied to the kid friendships.

If you are new to the area, I would want to live in a neighborhood that feeds a school you are willing to go to if you don’t get into APS for the sake of establishing kid and adult friendships.


How are you in walking distance of ATS, Cardinal, AND Ashlawn? ATS and Cardinal I can see, but Ashlawn also?


NP, but this was true for us in our old house near Dominion Hills.
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:19     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:Just understand that getting into ATS isn’t an achievement. So the construct of your question is a little strange.

It’s also not even all that coveted, except in some south Arlington zones for reasons that have nothing to do with ATS’s academic approach or philosophy.

Many schools in APS have a “focus” be it language immersion, STEM, whatever. There’s nothing inherently special about ATS. In fact many families are put off by it. You certainly don’t see parents in North Arlington who are zoned for Jamestown, Taylor, Nottingham etc. clamoring to get in.


Just as another point, I live in S Arlington and almost none of my neighbors applied to ATS. It's too far away, and too full of strivers for me. I much preferred our neighborhood school, which routinely gets maligned on these pages as a place to avoid. Why? Because people on there forums have no idea what they are talking about.
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:11     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Just understand that getting into ATS isn’t an achievement. So the construct of your question is a little strange.

It’s also not even all that coveted, except in some south Arlington zones for reasons that have nothing to do with ATS’s academic approach or philosophy.

Many schools in APS have a “focus” be it language immersion, STEM, whatever. There’s nothing inherently special about ATS. In fact many families are put off by it. You certainly don’t see parents in North Arlington who are zoned for Jamestown, Taylor, Nottingham etc. clamoring to get in.


To be fair, no school in Arlington is “coveted.”


THIS! Arlington is not even close to having "coveted" schools. Hahaha Just read some of the other posts on here that have been shared.
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:11     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
It's a lottery so I don't think you can really say if it is hard or not to get in. It's really just the luck of the draw. We sadly did not get in but wanted to and live in Cardinal district. We are of course happy but did want to attend ATS. Good luck, OP!
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:08     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
ATS is a great school. So are many others in Arlington. People can want different things but it doesn't mean N Arlington families do not want to send their kids there but S Arlington families do to try and avoid neighborhood schools.
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 10:06     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:My kids can walk to ATS, Cardinal, and Ashlawn. We did not apply to ATS, but I have friends who got in to ATS and would have gone to Tuckahoe and Nottingham respectively. Now that our kids are half-way through elementary, I will note that my kids’ friends are mostly walking / biking distance or a 3 min drive. The ATS parents drive all over town for play dates. I’ve also developed a network of mom friends in my neighborhood with whom I can carpool and trade favors like walking kids to school if I have an early meeting or picking up a sick kid from school because I work at home and their parent is in DC. My friends who chose ATS don’t really know their neighbors with similar age kids and their friendships are tied to the kid friendships.

If you are new to the area, I would want to live in a neighborhood that feeds a school you are willing to go to if you don’t get into APS for the sake of establishing kid and adult friendships.


How are you in walking distance of ATS, Cardinal, AND Ashlawn? ATS and Cardinal I can see, but Ashlawn also?
Anonymous
Post 02/21/2023 09:36     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:The year we applied - from a good school, but we liked the idea of the program -- after the VPI and siblings were accommodated, there were only 42 open spots. I was number 199 on the waitlist. Never plan on getting in to ATS. If you like a stricter school, move into the Science Focus boundary.


If you want more strictness in your kids' day, you can also impose it yourself.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2023 08:56     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:Just understand that getting into ATS isn’t an achievement. So the construct of your question is a little strange.

It’s also not even all that coveted, except in some south Arlington zones for reasons that have nothing to do with ATS’s academic approach or philosophy.

Many schools in APS have a “focus” be it language immersion, STEM, whatever. There’s nothing inherently special about ATS. In fact many families are put off by it. You certainly don’t see parents in North Arlington who are zoned for Jamestown, Taylor, Nottingham etc. clamoring to get in.


To be fair, no school in Arlington is “coveted.”
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2023 23:08     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
There were 22 slots open our year for a 75-kid class. The rest were sibling preferences and VPI admissions. The school moved to a bigger building so there are bigger classes. But the odds are still very slim. You'd be better off buying into a boundary you like so you have a good plan B.

ATS was great for us but my daughter would have been fine at our home school too.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2023 13:53     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
The year we applied - from a good school, but we liked the idea of the program -- after the VPI and siblings were accommodated, there were only 42 open spots. I was number 199 on the waitlist. Never plan on getting in to ATS. If you like a stricter school, move into the Science Focus boundary.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2023 13:42     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:Just understand that getting into ATS isn’t an achievement. So the construct of your question is a little strange.

It’s also not even all that coveted, except in some south Arlington zones for reasons that have nothing to do with ATS’s academic approach or philosophy.

Many schools in APS have a “focus” be it language immersion, STEM, whatever. There’s nothing inherently special about ATS. In fact many families are put off by it. You certainly don’t see parents in North Arlington who are zoned for Jamestown, Taylor, Nottingham etc. clamoring to get in.


This.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2023 13:29     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:My kids can walk to ATS, Cardinal, and Ashlawn. We did not apply to ATS, but I have friends who got in to ATS and would have gone to Tuckahoe and Nottingham respectively. Now that our kids are half-way through elementary, I will note that my kids’ friends are mostly walking / biking distance or a 3 min drive. The ATS parents drive all over town for play dates. I’ve also developed a network of mom friends in my neighborhood with whom I can carpool and trade favors like walking kids to school if I have an early meeting or picking up a sick kid from school because I work at home and their parent is in DC. My friends who chose ATS don’t really know their neighbors with similar age kids and their friendships are tied to the kid friendships.

If you are new to the area, I would want to live in a neighborhood that feeds a school you are willing to go to if you don’t get into APS for the sake of establishing kid and adult friendships.


+1 of this being an important consideration and thanks for posting pp. We must be very close neighbors (as we’re also walkable to all three) and I went to the ATS info session last week, but I think we will end up sticking with our neighborhood school because as someone who grew up in APS and is still friends with MANY of my childhood friends I feel like the walkable and close knit nature of Arlington’s elementary schools can be such a huge benefit that shouldn’t be discounted. I think people love the option schools when they choose them too! But just don’t discount what a great benefit it can be. This is something I’ve been thinking about so appreciate hearing your experience pp as we navigate this ourselves.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2023 13:19     Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
My kids can walk to ATS, Cardinal, and Ashlawn. We did not apply to ATS, but I have friends who got in to ATS and would have gone to Tuckahoe and Nottingham respectively. Now that our kids are half-way through elementary, I will note that my kids’ friends are mostly walking / biking distance or a 3 min drive. The ATS parents drive all over town for play dates. I’ve also developed a network of mom friends in my neighborhood with whom I can carpool and trade favors like walking kids to school if I have an early meeting or picking up a sick kid from school because I work at home and their parent is in DC. My friends who chose ATS don’t really know their neighbors with similar age kids and their friendships are tied to the kid friendships.

If you are new to the area, I would want to live in a neighborhood that feeds a school you are willing to go to if you don’t get into APS for the sake of establishing kid and adult friendships.