Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

And we can't forget that there is a petition to sign, if you'd like to help save the Team (and ignore the other 19 APS elementary schools):

https://www.change.org/p/arlington-county-school-board-create-smart-school-solutions-for-arlington-public-schools-enrollment-transfer-policies

What does the team have to do with the other 19 ESs? How does its existence affect them? I'm not pushing to keep the team, but I don't understand your point.

Having a "choice" school that's only allowed to be a choice for a couple other (incidentally, quite wealthy) ES's affects the other 19 schools because it creates a situation that is inherently inequitable. Especially when the parents at that school are allowed to privately fundraiser to upgrade the facilities at that that private choice school.

Fundraising at ASFS has nothing to do with this. Yes, the fundraising for investigation station at ASFS was over the top but every other Arlington ES has the possibility of doing the same, especially considering many of the ASFS donations came from outside the school, even if in reality this would be much more difficult for some of the schools.

The team concept no longer functions as planned and with each passing year it functions less and less as more families live in the Key zone and opt for ASFS instead, leaving very few seats available for Jamestown and Taylor students. So if boundaries for ES need to redrawn for overcrowding or other reasons, such as access to immersion, and the team no longer functions, getting rid of the team should be part of the solution.

Thankfully, you refuted your statement that "every other Arlington ES has the possibility of doing the same" with the realization that "in reality this would be much more difficult for some of the schools".

Schools that have FARMS numbers of 70-80% do not have any possibility of doing the same. We all know that.

Regarding fundraising, it is relevant here, if you consider that a good number of the benefactors to ASFS come from the Jamestown and Taylor zones and these same people do not want to lose access to the school they helped fund. Thus, they are looking to block the policy that would, in part, dissolve the Team, despite the benefits that the policy changes would bring to the larger system.

Anonymous wrote:The petition appears to indicate, in part, a deep fear that the change will mean that kids who were formerly guaranteed slots at Key will be effectively compelled to go elsewhere and thus overcrowd other schools. In other words, perhaps, asfs could lose the safety valve it gets from the shared asfs/key boundary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

pretty sure that Key has the most diverse zones in n Arlington.



For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Anonymous wrote:I wish these striving ASFS parents would put some attention towards Arlington Tech instead. Regardless of where the School Board builds the 1300 seats, Arlington Tech is still planned to grow to 800 students and APS needs to make some major renovations to the Career Center to accommodate the program. Murphy & the SB don't seem to know what they are doing. Quality science instruction at the high school level is so much more important than at the elementary school level. I think these ASFS parents are barking up the wrong tree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

Does anyone have the time to explain it to dumbass ^^^?

You explanation = "I feel bad that I didn't bust my ass to raise any money for my own school so I will sh1t on other schools who take the initiative to do so." Does that sum it up?

Try reading this to your kids. They will understand and can explain it to you. https://www.amazon.com/Sneetches-Other-Stories-Dr-Seuss/dp/0394800893

How many companies have you contacted to help raise money for your school? For APS?
How many different fundraisers have you tried?
How much have you personally donated to other APS PTAs? ACPS? DCPS?

Well, if ASFS had ever bothered to send a rep to the CCPTA, they'd know a fund already exists to "share the wealth." But they are not really interested in anything other than losing access to ASFS. Suddenly they care SO MUCH about equity and diversity. Sure, sure.

And get out of your bubble. Who's going to write a grant at a school where the majority of parents don't speak English and where many have no formal education in any language? I'm already doing it at my own economically disadvantaged school and just don't have the bandwidth or time to do it at another school. But please tell me more about what YOU are doing.

And yet you still have the time to come here and complain that others aren't doing more than you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

Does anyone have the time to explain it to dumbass ^^^?

You explanation = "I feel bad that I didn't bust my ass to raise any money for my own school so I will sh1t on other schools who take the initiative to do so." Does that sum it up?

Try reading this to your kids. They will understand and can explain it to you. https://www.amazon.com/Sneetches-Other-Stories-Dr-Seuss/dp/0394800893

How many companies have you contacted to help raise money for your school? For APS?
How many different fundraisers have you tried?
How much have you personally donated to other APS PTAs? ACPS? DCPS?

Well, if ASFS had ever bothered to send a rep to the CCPTA, they'd know a fund already exists to "share the wealth." But they are not really interested in anything other than losing access to ASFS. Suddenly they care SO MUCH about equity and diversity. Sure, sure.

And get out of your bubble. Who's going to write a grant at a school where the majority of parents don't speak English and where many have no formal education in any language? I'm already doing it at my own economically disadvantaged school and just don't have the bandwidth or time to do it at another school. But please tell me more about what YOU are doing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

How so?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

Does anyone have the time to explain it to dumbass ^^^?

You explanation = "I feel bad that I didn't bust my ass to raise any money for my own school so I will sh1t on other schools who take the initiative to do so." Does that sum it up?

Try reading this to your kids. They will understand and can explain it to you. https://www.amazon.com/Sneetches-Other-Stories-Dr-Seuss/dp/0394800893

How many companies have you contacted to help raise money for your school? For APS?
How many different fundraisers have you tried?
How much have you personally donated to other APS PTAs? ACPS? DCPS?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

How so?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

Ok. Equitable for immersion? The proposed changes will further limit access to ASFS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.