OK, so if most of us are anti-Cristina and a no on Symone, pick 2.

I'm thinking:
Priddy
Sandy

Symone posted misleading and divisive information in AEM during the commonwealth attorney campaign last fall that was actually scary because it was so off the wall. I would never vote for her. Hope someone did screen shot some of the posts noted above from AEM and/or send them to the Sun or Washington Post. She has total tunnel vision. We need someone who doesn’t manipulate (revise?) facts and with a bigger picture view of education.

Anonymous wrote:OK, that's worse than I thought. Someone should screen shot all that because if she's smart her campaign will remove all that.

She should also stop participating in the online discussions during her campaign.

I read a lot of the stuff. I'm a white person.

I think most of what Symone posts is on-target and needs to be said. She's advocating for issues that matter, and that APS tends to do a bad job at.

That said, I think she associates herself with (and sometimes participates in) this negative groupthink that basically is telling everyone else to sit down and shut up and listen to POC.

I'm torn about that. I know I need to listen more personally, and I think most people do. But I also think we need community-level solutions.

What that group said last year was that we need to do what Nauck wants for Drew because their voice counts most. And what the Key people are saying now is the same thing basically.

But we did open Drew several hundred seats under capacity, and that does matter. And if we don't move Key some kids are really far from a neighborhood school, and that includes low income kids who don't opt for immersion. These issues do effect the entire county. It's not just white people outside their lane.

I'm looking for ways to advocate for disadvantaged groups while also acknowledging the broader issues and keep everyone at the table.

That's what I want to know from Symone: Is she open to that? Does she want to hear these non-minority voices as well? Or does the reject all the UMC white people in Arlington as elites who need to STFU?

NP. Really really important to clarify that the group said that we needed to do what the "Black and Brown people who live in Nauck" want. All of Nauck was not 100% in favor of Drew become a high poverty neighborhood school. That was the specific view a neighborhood association run by older people with kids out of school. Parents in Nauck were ignored. And in various AEM posts they specifically said that non-brown people who were or could be zoned to Drew also had to sit down and shut up because their view didn't matter.

That is what concerns me about Symone's candidacy. The willingness to make a political decision based on the perception of supporting an under-represented population that actually screws over the larger amount of students in APS while not truly benefiting the group that is being identified as needing help.

Anonymous wrote:I read a lot of the stuff. I'm a white person.

I think most of what Symone posts is on-target and needs to be said. She's advocating for issues that matter, and that APS tends to do a bad job at.

That said, I think she associates herself with (and sometimes participates in) this negative groupthink that basically is telling everyone else to sit down and shut up and listen to POC.

I'm torn about that. I know I need to listen more personally, and I think most people do. But I also think we need community-level solutions.

What that group said last year was that we need to do what Nauck wants for Drew because their voice counts most. And what the Key people are saying now is the same thing basically.

But we did open Drew several hundred seats under capacity, and that does matter. And if we don't move Key some kids are really far from a neighborhood school, and that includes low income kids who don't opt for immersion. These issues do effect the entire county. It's not just white people outside their lane.

I'm looking for ways to advocate for disadvantaged groups while also acknowledging the broader issues and keep everyone at the table.

That's what I want to know from Symone: Is she open to that? Does she want to hear these non-minority voices as well? Or does the reject all the UMC white people in Arlington as elites who need to STFU?

Nauck Civic Association, not Nauck parents

Nauck is only 30 percent African American now

I read a lot of the stuff. I'm a white person.

I think most of what Symone posts is on-target and needs to be said. She's advocating for issues that matter, and that APS tends to do a bad job at.

That said, I think she associates herself with (and sometimes participates in) this negative groupthink that basically is telling everyone else to sit down and shut up and listen to POC.

I'm torn about that. I know I need to listen more personally, and I think most people do. But I also think we need community-level solutions.

What that group said last year was that we need to do what Nauck wants for Drew because their voice counts most. And what the Key people are saying now is the same thing basically.

But we did open Drew several hundred seats under capacity, and that does matter. And if we don't move Key some kids are really far from a neighborhood school, and that includes low income kids who don't opt for immersion. These issues do effect the entire county. It's not just white people outside their lane.

I'm looking for ways to advocate for disadvantaged groups while also acknowledging the broader issues and keep everyone at the table.

That's what I want to know from Symone: Is she open to that? Does she want to hear these non-minority voices as well? Or does the reject all the UMC white people in Arlington as elites who need to STFU?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did she say that wasn't true, though? I'm white, and I know that white privilege is real. It must be effing exhausting to deal with endless Not All White Peopling when you're trying to get problems addressed.

And please don't start with how you have to be patient and let white people just eventually come around through gentle disagreement and whatnot. POC have been trying that since Jamestown, and it hasn't worked yet. It seems long past time to call BS BS.

I haven't seen them post any evidence that the SROs in Arlington are in any way a problem. The ones I've met in the MSs and HSs have been very dedicated to helping kids and have mostly been minorities themselves.

The AEM folks post all these articles about SRO abuse from other places (mostly in the South), then post articles about disproportionate discipline for minority students in Arlington -- which is run by teachers and administrators, not SROs. I haven't seen anything about student arrests. They are conflating things in an inappropriate way -- a lot of this was happening during the Parisa campaign, by the way -- and its bad for a number of reasons. It puts the focus on SROs, which may not be the problem, and prevents us from diagnosing whatever the real problem may be.

I really did not appreciate how they slimed the ACPD in that campaign. The few actual Arlington cases cited were not presented fairly at all.

Also, FWIW, many of the Arlington SROs are people of color, including the Captain in charge. https://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/10/SROFactsheet.pdf

Anonymous wrote:
Sure, it’s real, but shutting people down repeatedly by playing that card rather than engaging in dialogue is itself bs. It’s a handy, easy way to shut people up when they have a different perspective.

Want to try that again?

Anonymous wrote:What did she say that wasn't true, though? I'm white, and I know that white privilege is real. It must be effing exhausting to deal with endless Not All White Peopling when you're trying to get problems addressed.

And please don't start with how you have to be patient and let white people just eventually come around through gentle disagreement and whatnot. POC have been trying that since Jamestown, and it hasn't worked yet. It seems long past time to call BS BS.

I haven't seen them post any evidence that the SROs in Arlington are in any way a problem. The ones I've met in the MSs and HSs have been very dedicated to helping kids and have mostly been minorities themselves.

The AEM folks post all these articles about SRO abuse from other places (mostly in the South), then post articles about disproportionate discipline for minority students in Arlington -- which is run by teachers and administrators, not SROs. I haven't seen anything about student arrests. They are conflating things in an inappropriate way -- a lot of this was happening during the Parisa campaign, by the way -- and its bad for a number of reasons. It puts the focus on SROs, which may not be the problem, and prevents us from diagnosing whatever the real problem may be.

Anonymous wrote:What did she say that wasn't true, though? I'm white, and I know that white privilege is real. It must be effing exhausting to deal with endless Not All White Peopling when you're trying to get problems addressed.

And please don't start with how you have to be patient and let white people just eventually come around through gentle disagreement and whatnot. POC have been trying that since Jamestown, and it hasn't worked yet. It seems long past time to call BS BS.

Sure, it’s real, but shutting people down repeatedly by playing that card rather than engaging in dialogue is itself bs. It’s a handy, easy way to shut people up when they have a different perspective.

And the “whi-“ comment came out of nowhere, in response to no one- it was pure speculation by someone that white Arlingtonians would dislike an article about the benefits of community college. What’s the point in liking a comment like that unless you just generally have a bone to pick with white people?

Anonymous wrote:OK, that's worse than I thought. Someone should screen shot all that because if she's smart her campaign will remove all that.

Those were just samples from threads that she created. No telling what else is there.

What did she say that wasn't true, though? I'm white, and I know that white privilege is real. It must be effing exhausting to deal with endless Not All White Peopling when you're trying to get problems addressed.

And please don't start with how you have to be patient and let white people just eventually come around through gentle disagreement and whatnot. POC have been trying that since Jamestown, and it hasn't worked yet. It seems long past time to call BS BS.

OK, that's worse than I thought. Someone should screen shot all that because if she's smart her campaign will remove all that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how is Symone divisive? I worked with her on school poverty concentration issues and she get it - concentrated poverty in schools is bad for everyone.

Get her going and you will regret it! No point in even having a conversation sometimes. Major tunnel vision.

+1. If you think she is intolerable on AEM, try meeting her in person. Zero sense of perspective or reality and super-rude to boot.

I don't know her that well, but I used to work with her. I thought she was practical and likeable. She had a good reputation in our office. The description of her on this forum doesn't seem accurate to me.

I'm a dp and I agree with this. I have spoken with her on a few occasions and found her to be pleasant and thoughtful. I basically intend to vote for her- although my mind is not entirely made up. I primarily have interacted with her on reading issues.

Well, yeah- if she thinks you’re on the same page on an issue she’ll treat you with respect. But leaders at the national AND local levels should treat people of differing opinions with respect. That is what’s missing here, and it’s a big part of what’s wrong with our country right now. I can’t vote for someone who vilifies people that she doesn’t agree with. It’s bad enough when that person is just another community member.

But spouting anonymous, vague accusations about a person with the guts to run for public office is totally model behavior, right? Link to a video of what you describe? Nothing? Then it’s a personal grudge, and should be valued as such.

Lol, ok. Here’s a quick sampling:

About someone who made a comment that not all teachers are racially biased:
She may be a Russian bot. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Responses to people questioning the push to remove SROs from schools:
-I understand that your privilege prevents you from seeing the police as anything other than a "protector."

-Your world view is very limited, and steeped in privilege and ignorance.

-Are you the parent of an African American or Latino student? I know you're not. Your privilege allows you to view concerns of dispariry and inequity as "bashing" the police.

-I could have predicted your response. Whenever POC speak our truth about our experiences of injustice and oppression, we're always accused of "race baiting." This is so text book and tired.

Response to someone who objected to students putting soap in a teacher’s drinking water being called a “stupid prank”:
Your misguided focus on my characterization of putting soap in water is a futile attemp to deflect from the real problem. Nice try.

...and liking countless comments like this:

Shade was important. Bc the truth is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of whi- i mean - elitist types in N Arlington

Yes, that “whi” means whites.