Anonymous
Post 04/16/2026 12:08     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DP. Read the post. Where did it say it’s worse? Two things can be true at the same time. Some of the middle school buildings are in bad shape. But I too have scratched my head over uninformed views of the Heights being some kind of palace. It’s not. It has its issues too. These same HB haters would probably be the first to complain if their kids went there. It was expensive yes but building a new school these days isn’t cheap and the site was challenging.


Please it won a bunch of design awards and environmental kudos; it’s almost brand new. Compared to Swanson and Williamsburg, it’s ridiculous to complain about cosmetic issues like PP, especially at an OPTION school you don’t have to attend.


Kids don't care about the stacked box design or environmental stuff, they care about whether its too loud to focus on tests because of the echoing hallways and whether they have to carry a backpack full of books up and down five flights of stairs because their locker is on the fifth floor and their classes and the lunchroom are spread across a mid-rise building. Parents care about whether there is anywhere to park for school events (not really, underground lot a block away) and if they have the right spaces and equipment to offer kids a full range of classes.
Anonymous
Post 04/16/2026 11:28     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have an HB question: how does class rank work, since they actually "graduate" from their home school. Are they lumped in with that class?


There is no class rank


Is that true for all APS high schools? Or just HBW?


Unique to HBW.

Notably, at WL anyone with weighted GPA over 4.0 is ranked as #1. Thus like 1/3 of the school is ranked #1. So I guess effectively no rank there?
Anonymous
Post 04/16/2026 09:17     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have an HB question: how does class rank work, since they actually "graduate" from their home school. Are they lumped in with that class?


There is no class rank


Is that true for all APS high schools? Or just HBW?
Anonymous
Post 04/15/2026 21:37     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:I have an HB question: how does class rank work, since they actually "graduate" from their home school. Are they lumped in with that class?


There is no class rank
Anonymous
Post 04/15/2026 11:39     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
I have an HB question: how does class rank work, since they actually "graduate" from their home school. Are they lumped in with that class?
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 10:52     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:There's no need for people to get worked up on policy decisions from 12 years ago. And the people who made those decisions have all since retired. Many parents posting here were not even in Arlington nor with kids back then.

Of course we'd all like to see Swanson fully renovated, and TJ rebuilt completely, etc.


Yet people are rewriting history from a decade ago to try to criticize HB today. I will continue to speak up if they do. I was there. I remember.
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 09:03     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:There's no need for people to get worked up on policy decisions from 12 years ago. And the people who made those decisions have all since retired. Many parents posting here were not even in Arlington nor with kids back then.

Of course we'd all like to see Swanson fully renovated, and TJ rebuilt completely, etc.


I think there are people who, when they die, will want their gravestone to read "H-B is overrated and costs too much compared to the other high schools"
Anonymous
Post 04/10/2026 07:36     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
There's no need for people to get worked up on policy decisions from 12 years ago. And the people who made those decisions have all since retired. Many parents posting here were not even in Arlington nor with kids back then.

Of course we'd all like to see Swanson fully renovated, and TJ rebuilt completely, etc.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 21:38     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:here's just one example - there was a LOT of lobbying!



https://www.arlnow.com/2014/05/10/letter-to-the-editor-relocate-h-b-woodlawn/


That is some gaslighting. The letter starts out quoting the ArlNow article about the 1300 student middle school at Rosslyn.

https://www.arlnow.com/2014/04/23/developing-aps-exploring-new-school-on-wilson-blvd-property/

Your so called “lobbying” was in response to a terrible plan to put about twice as many students at the Rosslyn site than are there now for HBW. Whatever complaints you have about the Heights for noise or parking, DOUBLE the student body and see if it improves.


you moved the goalpost. that last post was in response to a poster who said they they are zoned for DHMS and wanted the Rosslyn site. I pointed out that most did not agree with them - and not the one who were very loud and convinced the school board to move HB there instead.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 18:26     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DP. Read the post. Where did it say it’s worse? Two things can be true at the same time. Some of the middle school buildings are in bad shape. But I too have scratched my head over uninformed views of the Heights being some kind of palace. It’s not. It has its issues too. These same HB haters would probably be the first to complain if their kids went there. It was expensive yes but building a new school these days isn’t cheap and the site was challenging.


Please it won a bunch of design awards and environmental kudos; it’s almost brand new. Compared to Swanson and Williamsburg, it’s ridiculous to complain about cosmetic issues like PP, especially at an OPTION school you don’t have to attend.


HB is a crappy building, new or awards notwithstanding. The only benefit for that building is some stores for kids to buy drinks at nearby and the large slabs of concrete walls for kids to basically graffiti on. Both of which are overrated. As for the facilities itself, way too much wasted, unusable space, large windows where next door apartments or office people can peer into, and poor science labs and musical instrument rentals. And don't get me started on how poorly designed it is for fire drill evacuations.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 17:17     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:here's just one example - there was a LOT of lobbying!



https://www.arlnow.com/2014/05/10/letter-to-the-editor-relocate-h-b-woodlawn/


That is some gaslighting. The letter starts out quoting the ArlNow article about the 1300 student middle school at Rosslyn.

https://www.arlnow.com/2014/04/23/developing-aps-exploring-new-school-on-wilson-blvd-property/

Your so called “lobbying” was in response to a terrible plan to put about twice as many students at the Rosslyn site than are there now for HBW. Whatever complaints you have about the Heights for noise or parking, DOUBLE the student body and see if it improves.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 17:09     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:DP. Read the post. Where did it say it’s worse? Two things can be true at the same time. Some of the middle school buildings are in bad shape. But I too have scratched my head over uninformed views of the Heights being some kind of palace. It’s not. It has its issues too. These same HB haters would probably be the first to complain if their kids went there. It was expensive yes but building a new school these days isn’t cheap and the site was challenging.


Please it won a bunch of design awards and environmental kudos; it’s almost brand new. Compared to Swanson and Williamsburg, it’s ridiculous to complain about cosmetic issues like PP, especially at an OPTION school you don’t have to attend.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2026 15:53     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:Incoming 6th grader- how do the buses work? Are they picked up at local schools? How far in advance? I’m guessing 6-12 take the same bus? Can you share what time your pickup is?


HUB stop at W&L Picks up about 8:30 and gets to school on time. Key school hub stop picks up at 8:20 and gets to school on time. That's all I know.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2026 09:21     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
here's just one example - there was a LOT of lobbying!



https://www.arlnow.com/2014/05/10/letter-to-the-editor-relocate-h-b-woodlawn/
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2026 09:01     Subject: HB Woodlawn HS questions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The future Dorothy Hamm zoned families did NOT want to send their kids to the Rosslyn site. Nobody wanted the Rosslyn site.

HB got sent there, and got a fancy building for its troubles.

Dorothy Hamm got an addition that added 300 seats for $40 million - bringing capacity to 1000 students. Then the school board approved a Dorothy Hamm boundary that would ensure they would never fill the school to capacity.

HB got bigger with the move, and added 775 seats (counting the Shriver program in the same building) for $100 million...which was actually a little cheaper, per-seat-added, than the simultaneous Hamm addition.


Liar. We are zoned for DHMS and wanted the Rosslyn site.


Well most of your neighbors did not want their kids in Rosslyn, and they lobbied very hard and loudly for the Stratford site - and they got it. HB lost. If you try to deny that, you're just peddling fake revisionist history.