Anonymous
02/22/2023 16:57
Subject: How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote: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.
Is nastiness really necessary? Somebody not from VA might not know it.
Anonymous
02/22/2023 14:02
Subject: Re:How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Anonymous wrote:Most ATS kids are from N Arlington and were even before it’s move further N. Plenty of “Stivers” from all the “coveted” N Arlington schools.
With the exception of HB Woodlawn, it is true for every option program that its students come disproportionately from the immediately surrounding neighborhoods. And that makes logical sense because those are the people with the fewest logistical hurdles to attending. The only reason HB Woodlawn is different is because the lottery is allocated by school zone. The odds of getting into HB get better the further you live from the school, though, for exactly the same reason.
Anonymous
02/22/2023 13:59
Subject: Re:How hard it is to get into Arlington Traditional?
Most ATS kids are from N Arlington and were even before it’s move further N. Plenty of “Stivers” from all the “coveted” N Arlington schools.
Anonymous
02/22/2023 10:41
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.
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.
+1 to this. Another very happy parent at one of the "untouchable" S. Arlington schools. And yes I've had children in upper elementary--I say this because usually when anyone mentions these schools in a positive manner someone else chimes in to say that we'll change our minds when our kids reach 3rd-5th. 100% agree with the striver comment. The distance to ATS wasn't too far before the move but certainly is now.