Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP poster here. I chose S Arlington because of the commute to work and the idea that it seems to only be getting nicer. I didn't count on the entrenched affordable housing though. I just assumed that the schools would be getting better. And some are. It's just not as even.

Yes, I've been here for 16 years and it took me awhile to understand the politics of affordable housing, and its disparate impact on north and south Arlington. It's an article of faith for wealthy north Arlington dems; its how they can sleep at night. I'm a liberal and I believe in integrated communities not just as a nice idea but as something that broadly produces better outcomes for all. I think north of 50 it's not a tangible, and if it was, we'd see more affordable housing there and a boundary process that valued diversity. It's laughable what was spent on HB and the new high schools only to be told that we must live with school segregation because busing students around the smallest county in America costs too much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know where I will move, probably north Arlington. I just won’t have as nice a place as I have now.

...
"And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools.

I am curious what house and yard features are more important than your child's education. We are going through the same choices right now.

Unless you are at one of the poorest schools, I have a hard time believing actual education is being affected. In a handful of schools, I think it's possible that there's a lot of focus on test prep. I wouldn't want that for my kids, but again, I don't think this a problem across the board.

Do the schools look like a country club? No. Does your kid get to take a charter bus to a field trip out of state? Maybe not. But is your kid falling behind educationally? Also no. The kids who are affected by segregation are not the children of parents posting over here. You can take your kid to the Baltimore Aquarium any time you like, and I bet you already have. It's the kids whose families can't do that who are getting less and for whom the "experience" can't be replicated outside of school hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington parent here - PP is right. It is really only the UMC south arlington parents like me that are complaining. And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools. I care deeply about the education of the lower income kids because my family was there once, but they are doing the best they can. I think the scores and research show that those schools with the right demographic balance give them a better shot at academic success, but considering the circumstances these kids are coming from where everything in the American dream seems so unattainable, they are doing pretty darn good.

My kid and others like him are doing fine. That isn't the question, are they doing as well as they could be in north arlington? My kid is probably doing better where he is because he has ADHD and the title I school he goes to has a lot of resources to help him that would not be available north of 50. There is nothing cut-throat in his school, the teacher challenges him based on his level, and frankly the poorer kids are not the ones with behavior issues generally.

So, the next question is whether his "experience" is the same or as good as it would be north of 50. As far as being completely colorblind, that is a good thing. However, he does not have a pretty school, it is run down. Yards are a mess because there is no PTA paying for gardening. After school enrichment is much more limited than other schools. Fewer perks in the classroom and fancy festivals and things that I see at other schools. He doesn't know the difference. I do.

I am more concerned about the behaviors he will see in middle school. I will likely move by then because that is when the worst poverty-based behaviors tend to emerge.

What are these poverty-based behaviors? Drug abuse? Drinking? Skipping school? Sex? Because I don't think you're going to escape these by moving to North Arlington. Don't you read ArlNow? Also, while you may get some better "experiences" like festivals at the ES level, I don't think what you're looking for exists in terms of manicured grounds. Have you seen the school yards? With the exception of the recently built or renovated schools, they all look run down. If your kid plays sports surely you've noticed. I don't know what you mean by "classroom perks." Field trips? Only the poorest schools lack in field trips as far as I can tell. As for after school enrichment, I do think wealthier ES have a leg up here, but the after school offerings at the MS level are equally poor. The wealthier HS have more clubs, though, because they are based on student interest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington parent here - PP is right. It is really only the UMC south arlington parents like me that are complaining. And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools. I care deeply about the education of the lower income kids because my family was there once, but they are doing the best they can. I think the scores and research show that those schools with the right demographic balance give them a better shot at academic success, but considering the circumstances these kids are coming from where everything in the American dream seems so unattainable, they are doing pretty darn good.

My kid and others like him are doing fine. That isn't the question, are they doing as well as they could be in north arlington? My kid is probably doing better where he is because he has ADHD and the title I school he goes to has a lot of resources to help him that would not be available north of 50. There is nothing cut-throat in his school, the teacher challenges him based on his level, and frankly the poorer kids are not the ones with behavior issues generally.

So, the next question is whether his "experience" is the same or as good as it would be north of 50. As far as being completely colorblind, that is a good thing. However, he does not have a pretty school, it is run down. Yards are a mess because there is no PTA paying for gardening. After school enrichment is much more limited than other schools. Fewer perks in the classroom and fancy festivals and things that I see at other schools. He doesn't know the difference. I do.

I am more concerned about the behaviors he will see in middle school. I will likely move by then because that is when the worst poverty-based behaviors tend to emerge.

What are these poverty-based behaviors? Drug abuse? Drinking? Skipping school? Sex? Because I don't think you're going to escape these by moving to North Arlington. Don't you read ArlNow? Also, while you may get some better "experiences" like festivals at the ES level, I don't think what you're looking for exists in terms of manicured grounds. Have you seen the school yards? With the exception of the recently built or renovated schools, they all look run down. If your kid plays sports surely you've noticed. I don't know what you mean by "classroom perks." Field trips? Only the poorest schools lack in field trips as far as I can tell. As for after school enrichment, I do think wealthier ES have a leg up here, but the after school offerings at the MS level are equally poor. The wealthier HS have more clubs, though, because they are based on student interest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know where I will move, probably north Arlington. I just won’t have as nice a place as I have now.

...
"And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools.

I am curious what house and yard features are more important than your child's education. We are going through the same choices right now.

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington parent here - PP is right. It is really only the UMC south arlington parents like me that are complaining. And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools. I care deeply about the education of the lower income kids because my family was there once, but they are doing the best they can. I think the scores and research show that those schools with the right demographic balance give them a better shot at academic success, but considering the circumstances these kids are coming from where everything in the American dream seems so unattainable, they are doing pretty darn good.

My kid and others like him are doing fine. That isn't the question, are they doing as well as they could be in north arlington? My kid is probably doing better where he is because he has ADHD and the title I school he goes to has a lot of resources to help him that would not be available north of 50. There is nothing cut-throat in his school, the teacher challenges him based on his level, and frankly the poorer kids are not the ones with behavior issues generally.

So, the next question is whether his "experience" is the same or as good as it would be north of 50. As far as being completely colorblind, that is a good thing. However, he does not have a pretty school, it is run down. Yards are a mess because there is no PTA paying for gardening. After school enrichment is much more limited than other schools. Fewer perks in the classroom and fancy festivals and things that I see at other schools. He doesn't know the difference. I do.

I am more concerned about the behaviors he will see in middle school. I will likely move by then because that is when the worst poverty-based behaviors tend to emerge.

Anonymous wrote:PP here. I really don’t want to go into details because it will out me on this board, but I had a plan that would allow my kid to not attend the local school. The school he was going to, not our neighborhood school, was not a good fit and I had to change his school. So, at the time of purchase, it wasn’t as big an issue. And, I really didn’t appreciate the differences in the schools. I was always taught that it doesn’t matter where you go to school, it will all be ok. I didn’t go to a great school and my parents did a lot of education at home. Middle school seemed far away, now it is close.

Anonymous wrote:DP poster here. I chose S Arlington because of the commute to work and the idea that it seems to only be getting nicer. I didn't count on the entrenched affordable housing though. I just assumed that the schools would be getting better. And some are. It's just not as even.

Anonymous wrote:South Arlington parent here - PP is right. It is really only the UMC south arlington parents like me that are complaining. And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools. I care deeply about the education of the lower income kids because my family was there once, but they are doing the best they can. I think the scores and research show that those schools with the right demographic balance give them a better shot at academic success, but considering the circumstances these kids are coming from where everything in the American dream seems so unattainable, they are doing pretty darn good.

My kid and others like him are doing fine. That isn't the question, are they doing as well as they could be in north arlington? My kid is probably doing better where he is because he has ADHD and the title I school he goes to has a lot of resources to help him that would not be available north of 50. There is nothing cut-throat in his school, the teacher challenges him based on his level, and frankly the poorer kids are not the ones with behavior issues generally.

So, the next question is whether his "experience" is the same or as good as it would be north of 50. As far as being completely colorblind, that is a good thing. However, he does not have a pretty school, it is run down. Yards are a mess because there is no PTA paying for gardening. After school enrichment is much more limited than other schools. Fewer perks in the classroom and fancy festivals and things that I see at other schools. He doesn't know the difference. I do.

I am more concerned about the behaviors he will see in middle school. I will likely move by then because that is when the worst poverty-based behaviors tend to emerge.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know where I will move, probably north Arlington. I just won’t have as nice a place as I have now.

...
"And yes, I could not afford the house I wanted in north arlington otherwise I would have moved there because of the schools.