Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 11:25     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago when the idea for Cooper to become a center was first floated, Arlene Randall was said by many to not be particularly in favor of the idea. Wonder what made her change her mind.


She got her renovation and a few years to build the program.


Renovation ain't benefiting anyone anytime soon!! Try 2022. Some happy preschoolers out there are celebrating...
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 11:21     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.


I don't feel bad at all for any Westbriar parent complaining about too many AAP students. Stenwood parents fought against going to Lemon Road for who knows what reason. Their kids would be home about 1.5 hours earlier if they had elected Lemon Road. Now they get home close to 5:00. Lemon Road still has room for them. And the base school Westbriar parents stood back and let a couple of gung ho AAP center parents be the sole parent voice to have Westbriar as a center school and didn't even ask any questions such as how large the school would become and whether it would be out of balance.


Oh how wrong you are! The base parents did not stand back at Westbriar. They constantly fought against the change and brought up the fact that making Westbriar an AAP Center would turn a small neighborhood schools into a 900-1000 kid behemoth.

They were drowned out by AAP parents and AAP wannabe younger parents and a principal who wanted an AAP empire. The parents who pushed for a center didn't want their kids to have to go to the Lemon Road neighborhood and Stenwood parents were all too happy to send their kids to a nicer part of town even if it meant their kids were on buses for a longer time.

The Westbriar center supporters also wanted a shiny new addition, which laughably, won't even be able to adequately house the projected population. They've added few feet onto the front of the cafeteria for a school population that will more than double from the 450 or so kids it was a decade ago. They're adding an addition with new classrooms, but the current hallways in the old part of the school will never be able to handle the new population. It's a joke.


Then advocate to have the Stenwood parents switch to Lemon Road. They have their own LLIV program anyway. Shouldn't need to be on a bus for 45 minutes to go to Westbriar.


Ultimately, I don't think centers in places like Vienna, McLean and Great Falls will stand. I think they'll become LLIV, so the Stenwood families will go back to their base school. Sadly, even that won't help Westbriar -- once you build an elementary school (that's K-6) with a capacity for 900 kids, you'll have an outsized population (on a tiny street) forever. It has become the defacto Tysons school and will continue new families coming from apartment buildings being thrown up by developers, near and far.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 09:17     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago when the idea for Cooper to become a center was first floated, Arlene Randall was said by many to not be particularly in favor of the idea. Wonder what made her change her mind.


She got her renovation and a few years to build the program.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 08:50     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.


I don't feel bad at all for any Westbriar parent complaining about too many AAP students. Stenwood parents fought against going to Lemon Road for who knows what reason. Their kids would be home about 1.5 hours earlier if they had elected Lemon Road. Now they get home close to 5:00. Lemon Road still has room for them. And the base school Westbriar parents stood back and let a couple of gung ho AAP center parents be the sole parent voice to have Westbriar as a center school and didn't even ask any questions such as how large the school would become and whether it would be out of balance.


Oh how wrong you are! The base parents did not stand back at Westbriar. They constantly fought against the change and brought up the fact that making Westbriar an AAP Center would turn a small neighborhood schools into a 900-1000 kid behemoth.

They were drowned out by AAP parents and AAP wannabe younger parents and a principal who wanted an AAP empire. The parents who pushed for a center didn't want their kids to have to go to the Lemon Road neighborhood and Stenwood parents were all too happy to send their kids to a nicer part of town even if it meant their kids were on buses for a longer time.

The Westbriar center supporters also wanted a shiny new addition, which laughably, won't even be able to adequately house the projected population. They've added few feet onto the front of the cafeteria for a school population that will more than double from the 450 or so kids it was a decade ago. They're adding an addition with new classrooms, but the current hallways in the old part of the school will never be able to handle the new population. It's a joke.


Then advocate to have the Stenwood parents switch to Lemon Road. They have their own LLIV program anyway. Shouldn't need to be on a bus for 45 minutes to go to Westbriar.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 08:26     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Where this rumor comes from? Arlene tried her best to promote Cooper AAP center in the past three years. She has been in FCPS AAP Advisory Committee for several years.


Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago when the idea for Cooper to become a center was first floated, Arlene Randall was said by many to not be particularly in favor of the idea. Wonder what made her change her mind.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 08:26     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:A couple of years ago when the idea for Cooper to become a center was first floated, Arlene Randall was said by many to not be particularly in favor of the idea. Wonder what made her change her mind.


Because deep down, no school of sane people wants to be a center. Few people like the families centers attract who tend to be entitled and in it only for themselves and their kids.

AAP is a guaranteed community crusher.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 07:22     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
A couple of years ago when the idea for Cooper to become a center was first floated, Arlene Randall was said by many to not be particularly in favor of the idea. Wonder what made her change her mind.
Anonymous
Post 12/08/2015 05:20     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any idea of how the Cooper principle, Arlene Randall, feels about adopting/running an AAP center at Cooper?


Arlene desperately wants an AAP Center at Cooper and has been advocating for it for several years.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 22:47     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.


I don't feel bad at all for any Westbriar parent complaining about too many AAP students. Stenwood parents fought against going to Lemon Road for who knows what reason. Their kids would be home about 1.5 hours earlier if they had elected Lemon Road. Now they get home close to 5:00. Lemon Road still has room for them. And the base school Westbriar parents stood back and let a couple of gung ho AAP center parents be the sole parent voice to have Westbriar as a center school and didn't even ask any questions such as how large the school would become and whether it would be out of balance.


Oh how wrong you are! The base parents did not stand back at Westbriar. They constantly fought against the change and brought up the fact that making Westbriar an AAP Center would turn a small neighborhood schools into a 900-1000 kid behemoth.

They were drowned out by AAP parents and AAP wannabe younger parents and a principal who wanted an AAP empire. The parents who pushed for a center didn't want their kids to have to go to the Lemon Road neighborhood and Stenwood parents were all too happy to send their kids to a nicer part of town even if it meant their kids were on buses for a longer time.

The Westbriar center supporters also wanted a shiny new addition, which laughably, won't even be able to adequately house the projected population. They've added few feet onto the front of the cafeteria for a school population that will more than double from the 450 or so kids it was a decade ago. They're adding an addition with new classrooms, but the current hallways in the old part of the school will never be able to handle the new population. It's a joke.


Sounds an awful lot like the AAP parents at our center. Demanding doesn't even begin to cover it. I can't for the life of me understand why FCPS capitulates to them again and again.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 22:37     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.


I don't feel bad at all for any Westbriar parent complaining about too many AAP students. Stenwood parents fought against going to Lemon Road for who knows what reason. Their kids would be home about 1.5 hours earlier if they had elected Lemon Road. Now they get home close to 5:00. Lemon Road still has room for them. And the base school Westbriar parents stood back and let a couple of gung ho AAP center parents be the sole parent voice to have Westbriar as a center school and didn't even ask any questions such as how large the school would become and whether it would be out of balance.


Oh how wrong you are! The base parents did not stand back at Westbriar. They constantly fought against the change and brought up the fact that making Westbriar an AAP Center would turn a small neighborhood schools into a 900-1000 kid behemoth.

They were drowned out by AAP parents and AAP wannabe younger parents and a principal who wanted an AAP empire. The parents who pushed for a center didn't want their kids to have to go to the Lemon Road neighborhood and Stenwood parents were all too happy to send their kids to a nicer part of town even if it meant their kids were on buses for a longer time.

The Westbriar center supporters also wanted a shiny new addition, which laughably, won't even be able to adequately house the projected population. They've added few feet onto the front of the cafeteria for a school population that will more than double from the 450 or so kids it was a decade ago. They're adding an addition with new classrooms, but the current hallways in the old part of the school will never be able to handle the new population. It's a joke.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 22:36     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anyone have any idea of how the Cooper principle, Arlene Randall, feels about adopting/running an AAP center at Cooper?
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 11:34     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.


I don't feel bad at all for any Westbriar parent complaining about too many AAP students. Stenwood parents fought against going to Lemon Road for who knows what reason. Their kids would be home about 1.5 hours earlier if they had elected Lemon Road. Now they get home close to 5:00. Lemon Road still has room for them. And the base school Westbriar parents stood back and let a couple of gung ho AAP center parents be the sole parent voice to have Westbriar as a center school and didn't even ask any questions such as how large the school would become and whether it would be out of balance.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 11:05     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
I guess moving kids to Thoreau will also help Kilmer.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 10:23     Subject: Re:Cooper Middle School New AAP center
They should just move the Stenwood kids to Lemon Road instead of Westbriar.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 09:05     Subject: Cooper Middle School New AAP center
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Looks as though the school board has been hard at work already and have sent out an email today requesting community "feedback" on the issue of having Cooper become an official center school for next fall. Anyone care to comment (preferably not a bunch of disgruntled Longfellow and Kilmer parents either)...


The recommended boundary adjustment from Facilities (as posted on BoardDocs for tomorrow's work session) lists an "Anticipated Effective Date" of SY17-18. So fall of 2017, not next fall.

Of course the School Board can go with or against Facilities' recommendation.

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=A4JL9M51F963


If that's true, it's disappointing. No relief for kids at absurdly overcrowded Kilmer ( 150% capacity), but plenty of time for Cooper families to have a "perfect" AAP experience. The hypocrisy in this system is ludicrous.
Actually, if you review the documents handed out at the AAP meeting, the majority of Great Falls schools including Colvin Run are already selecting Cooper over Kilmer for their Level
IV program-so you can't blame AAP for the 150% capacity. Moving the remainder of the kids out won't be a panacea for Kilmer. Thems the facts..


There is other language in the CIP suggesting FCPS may move the Westbriaf island to Colvin Run. When that happens those kids will get moved out of Kilmer/Marshall, too. That's right - Staff is talking about moving the most affluent part of the Marshall district to the Langley pyramid and leaving Westbriar even more AAP-centric.