Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:56 - in your shoes, I would probably have my child take the school bus, or I would drive him/her. I think the walk zone for ES is only a mile.

Plus, I think that you are entitled to ride the bus if you would have to cross a major street (and Route 50 certainly counts), even if you live in the "walk" zone.

Yes. If you have to cross 50 or 66, you are bused.

So when the new boundaries for the new school are being discussed, the cost of bus transportation across route 50 to the new school vs. walking to Long Branch should be part of the conversation.

Discussed in context. Some children will have to be bused, whether they are bused to the new Henry or another school adjacent to LB is the question. And the pedestrian bridge probably makes crossing 50 a non-issue in terms of safety, so they may not need to provide bus transportation to the new Henry anyway.

I think it's fine for the middle school kids to walk, hopefully by then my son will have enough sense not to run into the street! It's the walking with toddlers and babies across the bridge that scares me. We are 3 blocks from long branch thru quiet residential streets, so when the time comes I am hoping we can retain that as our school!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And $3M allocated to finding land for new parks, but $0 allocated to finding new land for schools. Even though a bunch of our old school buildings have already been turned into parks (Madison, Lubber Run). Please write to the School Board and the County Board people!!!

why not build a school/community center combo at Lubber Run like Boston-Hoffman/Carver or TJMS/TJCC?

Lubber Run was on the table as a potential site a couple of years ago when they ultimately decided to open Stratford and move HB to Wilson. The surrounding neighborhoods opposed it because of traffic and loss of green space and it was removed from consideration. In the current context perhaps it's time to revisit.

I live in Arlington Forest. The community opposed it because the proposal was to completely wipe out the community center and park/playground and put a middle school in the spot INSTEAD (not in addition to). I think a combo use of the lot would have probably succeeded, but I can't say for sure -- there's a huge contingent of low-income folks from right across the way who use the community center and playground a lot, and who are mostly spanish-speaking and didn't seem to be present at meetings. Then there's a huge majority of people who are older and pushed for green space and parks. All the meetings were held on weeknights at like 7pm, so I, with my baby, could not attend and represent myself -- I'm guessing other parents of young kids also couldn't!

The old-fashioned method of having community meetings in person really screws over the parents of young kids and skews the representation at meetings to the retired set or parents of older kids/empty nesters. It's not a friendly approach if bedtime is 7:30pm and hey -- you also need to pay a sitter $15/hr to go to a meeting where you MIGHT MAYBE have a chance to say something and listen to APS/ACB song-and-dance.

Okay, thanks.

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I posted in the overcrowded schools thread about the County Board CIP, including all the contact info. Please, folks who are reading this, please write in to both County and School Boards:

The County Board just announced its own Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) that asks for $177M in new bonds, but only sends $12M towards schools, most of it apparently for a parking structure at Thomas Jefferson ... ?

https://www.arlnow.com/2016/05/20/proposed-capital...e-parks-and-rec/#disqus_thread

This is crazy. That's just not sufficient to deal with the school population onslaught that is coming. Please write the school and county boards!

To contact the School Board, send an email to: school.board@apsva.us

Alterrnatively, fax them at (703) 228-7640, write Arlington Education Center, 1426 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22207, or phone (703) 228-6015. Open office hours for citizens to visit with School Board members are generally held on Mondays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (walk-in/no appointment needed) during the school year. If there is a Monday holiday, open office hours will be held on the following Tuesday morning from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the School Board Office. To view the schedule for Open Office Hours, click here <http://www.apsva.us/Page/3050>.

To contact the County Board (PLEASE DO THIS!!!), send a message via this internet contact form: <https://www.arlingtonva.us/contact-arlington/>

There is a separate school bond. You can argue that the county should use less of its bonding capacity for parks and other infrastructure, but if you accuse them of "only" spending $12m on schools they will ignore you because you're missing the point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And $3M allocated to finding land for new parks, but $0 allocated to finding new land for schools. Even though a bunch of our old school buildings have already been turned into parks (Madison, Lubber Run). Please write to the School Board and the County Board people!!!

why not build a school/community center combo at Lubber Run like Boston-Hoffman/Carver or TJMS/TJCC?

Lubber Run was on the table as a potential site a couple of years ago when they ultimately decided to open Stratford and move HB to Wilson. The surrounding neighborhoods opposed it because of traffic and loss of green space and it was removed from consideration. In the current context perhaps it's time to revisit.

Here is what I posted in the overcrowded schools thread about the County Board CIP, including all the contact info. Please, folks who are reading this, please write in to both County and School Boards:

The County Board just announced its own Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) that asks for $177M in new bonds, but only sends $12M towards schools, most of it apparently for a parking structure at Thomas Jefferson ... ?

https://www.arlnow.com/2016/05/20/proposed-capital...e-parks-and-rec/#disqus_thread

This is crazy. That's just not sufficient to deal with the school population onslaught that is coming. Please write the school and county boards!

To contact the School Board, send an email to: school.board@apsva.us

Alterrnatively, fax them at (703) 228-7640, write Arlington Education Center, 1426 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22207, or phone (703) 228-6015. Open office hours for citizens to visit with School Board members are generally held on Mondays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. (walk-in/no appointment needed) during the school year. If there is a Monday holiday, open office hours will be held on the following Tuesday morning from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the School Board Office. To view the schedule for Open Office Hours, click here <http://www.apsva.us/Page/3050>.

To contact the County Board (PLEASE DO THIS!!!), send a message via this internet contact form: <https://www.arlingtonva.us/contact-arlington/>

Anonymous wrote:And $3M allocated to finding land for new parks, but $0 allocated to finding new land for schools. Even though a bunch of our old school buildings have already been turned into parks (Madison, Lubber Run). Please write to the School Board and the County Board people!!!

why not build a school/community center combo at Lubber Run like Boston-Hoffman/Carver or TJMS/TJCC?

And $3M allocated to finding land for new parks, but $0 allocated to finding new land for schools. Even though a bunch of our old school buildings have already been turned into parks (Madison, Lubber Run). Please write to the School Board and the County Board people!!!

Anonymous wrote:So the County Board just announced its own Capital Improvements Plan and it only allocates $12M to schools, no where near enough. *sigh*

https://www.arlnow.com/2016/05/20/proposed-capital-improvement-plan-includes-millions-for-metro-maintenance-parks-and-rec/#disqus_thread

OMG. I love the Neighborhood Conversation program, but we just used our funds to replace old street lights (which were perfectly fine) with new street lights that are supposed to be more energy efficient-- and everybody in my neighborhood now hates them and are begging to go back to the old lights. But we're basically allocating the same amount of money for NCAC (i.e., streetlights) as we are for new school facilities if I am reading this correctly. WTF? How is this seriously happening?

So the County Board just announced its own Capital Improvements Plan and it only allocates $12M to schools, no where near enough. *sigh*

https://www.arlnow.com/2016/05/20/proposed-capital-improvement-plan-includes-millions-for-metro-maintenance-parks-and-rec/#disqus_thread

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Which long branch zones would be sent to the new school at jefferson? My kids aren't in school yet, but we are in ashton heights, down the street from long branch and across 50 from jefferson. I hear awesome things about Patrick Henry, and it would be great for the kids to go to school in a new building, but am I supposed to walk my kindergartner across a 6 lane highway with a toddler and baby in tow to get to elementary school? Even with the pedestrian bridge that sounds awful.

If your biggest problem is that, for a couple of years, you are going to have to walk your kids over a pedestrian bridge, count your blessings.

Arlington is in a tough situation. You need to figure out what you can live with, not what's ideal.

This. So much this.

Long Branch poster, they cannot expand LB, the lot is too small, and they can't use a trailer farm for the same reason, unless you don't care at all about kids having areas to play. So if there are too many kids, some have to be sent somewhere. If not being sent to the new Henry, your next closest school is Barrett, I think, in which case your kids would probably be getting on a bus to a school that is also projected to be over capacity soon. Not everybody is going to be able to walk to a small neighborhood school. Not in Arlington.

There is actually internal space to expand the 2nd floor of Long Branch but I think not having any place to put the kids if that takes longer than a summer is a big barrier to doing it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:56 - in your shoes, I would probably have my child take the school bus, or I would drive him/her. I think the walk zone for ES is only a mile.

Plus, I think that you are entitled to ride the bus if you would have to cross a major street (and Route 50 certainly counts), even if you live in the "walk" zone.

Yes. If you have to cross 50 or 66, you are bused.

So when the new boundaries for the new school are being discussed, the cost of bus transportation across route 50 to the new school vs. walking to Long Branch should be part of the conversation.

Discussed in context. Some children will have to be bused, whether they are bused to the new Henry or another school adjacent to LB is the question. And the pedestrian bridge probably makes crossing 50 a non-issue in terms of safety, so they may not need to provide bus transportation to the new Henry anyway.

Yes, I wonder how that really works for ES -- MS kids in Ashton Heights are walkers for Jefferson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:56 - in your shoes, I would probably have my child take the school bus, or I would drive him/her. I think the walk zone for ES is only a mile.

Plus, I think that you are entitled to ride the bus if you would have to cross a major street (and Route 50 certainly counts), even if you live in the "walk" zone.

Yes. If you have to cross 50 or 66, you are bused.

So when the new boundaries for the new school are being discussed, the cost of bus transportation across route 50 to the new school vs. walking to Long Branch should be part of the conversation.

Discussed in context. Some children will have to be bused, whether they are bused to the new Henry or another school adjacent to LB is the question. And the pedestrian bridge probably makes crossing 50 a non-issue in terms of safety, so they may not need to provide bus transportation to the new Henry anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:56 - in your shoes, I would probably have my child take the school bus, or I would drive him/her. I think the walk zone for ES is only a mile.

Plus, I think that you are entitled to ride the bus if you would have to cross a major street (and Route 50 certainly counts), even if you live in the "walk" zone.

Yes. If you have to cross 50 or 66, you are bused.

So when the new boundaries for the new school are being discussed, the cost of bus transportation across route 50 to the new school vs. walking to Long Branch should be part of the conversation.

Anonymous wrote:Wasn't there a meeting on this last night? Did anyone go?

I didn't go, but I watched it on local cable. It was mostly about Reed and concerns about TCS and the Integration School since the CIP didn't have any mention of them. Then others in Westover expressing concerns about losing the character of the area to overbuilding (i.e., massive parking garages). About 4 or so others (Thank God) came forward and expressed concerns about the lack of crowding in high schools. They all told the SB they needed to be brave and go to the CB and ask for more money. We know that the high schools will be really overcrowded b/c those kids are currently in the ES (or soon to be--4 yrs old) today. A few mentioned needing a NAWG similiar to the one they had for SAWG (i guess a while back, wasn't as involved back then as my oldest is now just 4).

One parent came forward and advocated for all kids. She said that the bottom 10 to 20% need the most help and usually take the most attention of teachers and the top 10 to 20% are stars and don't need much help from us but it's all the kids in the middle who will suffer if the high schools are 3000 students which is what can happen with the current proposals and no new high school.

I cannot believe that the decisions of a few will have such a huge impact on the K-12 education of 30K students in Arlington.