Yes, the point isn't that HB is causing the problem. The problem is that HB winners don't have to live with the problems the rest of us do... overcrowding. Thats not fair.

You do have the option to transfer to TJ or Kenmore. They are both under 100% and take transfers. We've been very happy at TJ.


Oh fuck you--you know they aren't even 1/8 comparable to HB much less Swanson or WMS

Rude AND inarticulate! Have you ever even set foot in TJ? I doubt it. TJ can hold its ground against any of these other schools.

You do have the option to transfer to TJ or Kenmore. They are both under 100% and take transfers. We've been very happy at TJ.

This is not true of TJ. It is overcapacity, too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not so much sour grapes as it is a dose of reality. Of course HB is part of the problem. If it's inherently so awesome and such as asset, why not allow in 100 more kids per class. Duh, it's because increasing its size would kill the reason it's special. And what I'm saying is that it's outrageous that the lucky few get to have this for their kids when my kids don't get it. And I'm paying for it, dearly! Insult to injury.

So if your kids got it would you still push to get rid of the program?

What are you "paying"? The new building? That was intended for the new middle school. Blame the Taylor families who pushed H-B out and forced them too take that building instead.

It costs $20k per kid to educate a child in APS. You're right I want HB for my kid! I'd hope I'd be gracious and want to share with everyone if my kid won the golden ticket. But we'll never know because we didn't win. I'm not bashing the parents of kids who are lucky. I'm bashing the government that creates this system where some kids are more equal than others. Put more simply, if HB had similar overcrowding to Swanson, I wouldn't feel outraged at all that we didn't win the lottery. Let's get HB as overcrowded as everyone else!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

How is it not the problem when the county is about to spend $100 million that they could spend on buying the land needed for the high school we desperately need? It is about resources.

Talk to the Taylor families who forced H-B out of their space. That wasn't H-B's choice. The money is effectively to open up a new middle school.

The Taylor families didn't "force" HB out. There is a crisis in middle school seats right now and it is getting worse each year. The HB community has worked he BLPC process (where decisions get made about the project). They kept pushing to get more and more, to the point that they overran the original budget. It seems like they are doing this for spite since they got "forced out@. The most ridiculous thing we are paying for is to move the graffiti walls from HB to the new site. That is a waste of taxpayer dollars. No issue if the PTA and alumni raised funds for moving the walls, but inappropriate as a taxpayer expense.

And to hit on the comment that HB is already co-located. Yes - you are with Stratford, which has a TINY population. HB fought hard publicly about co-locating with programs such as Montessori or a countywide preschool, because they were worried if more seats were in that site, they might have to expand in the future. Selfish and hateful.

My latest favorite entitled HB complaint is about the temporary fire station, which will have animoact for a couple years max. This, while there is hardly any green space at McKinley and Swanson and Williamsburg are turning into trailer parks. And we have 3 high schools that will easily hit 3,000 students (in buildings that were built for 1800) in the foreseeable future.

Why should 775 HB kids get so much relative to the 12,000 other APS middle and high schoolers. HB is not the 1%, but pretty close at 6%!

Anonymous wrote:Not so much sour grapes as it is a dose of reality. Of course HB is part of the problem. If it's inherently so awesome and such as asset, why not allow in 100 more kids per class. Duh, it's because increasing its size would kill the reason it's special. And what I'm saying is that it's outrageous that the lucky few get to have this for their kids when my kids don't get it. And I'm paying for it, dearly! Insult to injury.

So if your kids got it would you still push to get rid of the program?

What are you "paying"? The new building? That was intended for the new middle school. Blame the Taylor families who pushed H-B out and forced them too take that building instead.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

I have a 7th grader at Swanson. He LOVES it there. I think the teams approach is a good one in that it keeps the kids rotating in their core classes in smaller groups. He gets to meet up with his friends at lunch. He doesn't complain or feel that the school is overcrowded. I get the feeling it is the PARENTS who are freaking out about 'oh the overcrowding' whereas the kids are doing just fine.

I have had 2 kids at Swanson; DC2 is there now. Agree that this is a problem much more for parents than for students. But it's also true that there is a limit to how many kids they can squeeze in there.

Not so much sour grapes as it is a dose of reality. Of course HB is part of the problem. If it's inherently so awesome and such as asset, why not allow in 100 more kids per class. Duh, it's because increasing its size would kill the reason it's special. And what I'm saying is that it's outrageous that the lucky few get to have this for their kids when my kids don't get it. And I'm paying for it, dearly! Insult to injury.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

HB is absolutely part of the problem when it's able to keep its student population numbers disproportionately low compared to the rest of the middle schools and high schools in Arlington. I don't give a crap that HB won't work as well if there are too many students; Swanson, Williamsburg, WL and soon the other high schools aren't functioning at their best either when they are so overcrowded.

And no sour grapes from me on HB if you mean I'm jealous bc my kids didn't get in - I didn't want them there in the first place. But yes absolutely sour grapes on my part if it means frustration that HB is protected from overcrowding.

What we really need is a 4th comprehensive HS. Let's focus our energy on pushing for that. Adding the surplus students to H-B (who doesn't have fields, etc) won't help. Getting rid of H-B won't help. Build another MS (already planned) and HS. That will help.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

How is it not the problem when the county is about to spend $100 million that they could spend on buying the land needed for the high school we desperately need? It is about resources.

Talk to the Taylor families who forced H-B out of their space. That wasn't H-B's choice. The money is effectively to open up a new middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

HB is absolutely part of the problem when it's able to keep its student population numbers disproportionately low compared to the rest of the middle schools and high schools in Arlington. I don't give a crap that HB won't work as well if there are too many students; Swanson, Williamsburg, WL and soon the other high schools aren't functioning at their best either when they are so overcrowded.

And no sour grapes from me on HB if you mean I'm jealous bc my kids didn't get in - I didn't want them there in the first place. But yes absolutely sour grapes on my part if it means frustration that HB is protected from overcrowding.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

How is it not the problem when the county is about to spend $100 million that they could spend on buying the land needed for the high school we desperately need? It is about resources.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

Agreed. My kid did not get into HB for middle school, but the program is an asset to Arlington and should stay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

Look at my post at 23:06. I am describing Swanson where my DD is a 7th grader. Yes, the teachers are generally handling the overcrowding the best they can but do you want your child in that far from ideal atmosphere at the same time other students have HB????

Ok. Swanson is overcrowded, but not "class sizes" as OP posted.

HB is NOT the problem. It's the huge increase in students. We need to build another middle school (already in the works), not tear down an existing, successful program. These complaints just sound like sour grapes. Focus on the actual problem and let's fix that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson... but all APS schools are full to bursting. Except HB.

But what are the class sizes like at Swanson?

It isn't class size you need to look at. That is fixed by law and so most of the schools are close to that limit most of the time in most classes. Look at if the teams are functioning (so a common English, science and history teacher share the same kid's and a common prep period), what percentage of the kids who try out get to actually make the team, if the parents are complaining things are chaotic, if the principal knows the kids by name....

Who cares if the principal knows each kid's name? Why is filling a principal's head with hundreds of new names every year desirable? I certainly wouldn't want my kid'd principal making that a priority.