Anonymous
Post 02/27/2022 06:46     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
I’m delighted people are pulling kids out and going to private because it means small class size for me!


But that’s not really how it works out. If they allow 25 in a class and the school loses 100 kids, there are STILL 25 in a class. There are just 4 fewer classes. I’m a teacher at another N Arl elementary and our school overall is the smallest it’s been in years. Yet I have the largest class I’ve had since 2016 this year.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2022 02:44     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Nottingham family here. New to the school in an early grade. There’s almost no diversity. I can’t even say what minority we are bc it might out me lol. I grew up in a non diverse school so it dies t bother me too much. What does bother me is that for all the “we don’t teach CRT in VA” stuff, my very young child seems to have learned a lot about race this January- far beyond the legacy of Dr. King. I don’t really care for it- he’s never had to think about race before and I don’t need him internalizing that there’s a legacy of treating people like him differently/badly. On the other hand, he’s learned about some inventors of color and was very inspired by that - that was nice and I do love to see in the classroom that there is a focus on highlighting the contributions of people of color and normalizing that people of color have made immense contributions in our history as a nation.

Class-size has been fantastic. Teacher has been fantastic. Kid has an IEP and the team has been fantastic. Principal knows me by name. Extended day has been fantastic. They seem to be reading, coding robots, and learning fractions. With the exception of reading, I did none of this in first grade so I am pretty impressed with them.

I’m delighted people are pulling kids out and going to private because it means small class size for me!

I have met snobby people at my bus stop, but in our classroom I have not met any snobby people. Fundraiser seem to be “eat here tonight and some money will go to the PTA” kind of things. The school just did a really nice STEAM night. Nottingham is the place to see and be seen when snow comes. All the kids are at the sledding hill. So far there seems to be a great community, at least in our grade. I’m very happy we are here.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 13:34     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We left for Catholic School last year. DC's N Arlington elementary school called and emailed me several times to ask us if we'd consider returning. No kidding.


They called you? That is fascinating. I thought they would be happy to get a bunch of families out from under APS given the overcrowding and all of the high density development and upzoning conversations.


DP but we're at DES and although we lost 100 kids, we lost classes/teachers too. So for example instead of 4 classes in a grade, there's 3 - that are at full capacity.


This. I’m not surprised they called. If enough people were planning to send their kids back they would have needed to hire additional staff. Some people sucked up the expense of private for a couple of years to get through COVID but weren’t prepared to do it long term.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 12:14     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We left for Catholic School last year. DC's N Arlington elementary school called and emailed me several times to ask us if we'd consider returning. No kidding.


They called you? That is fascinating. I thought they would be happy to get a bunch of families out from under APS given the overcrowding and all of the high density development and upzoning conversations.


This was a thing last year. They were supposed to call everyone who left to see if they planned on returning.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 12:13     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So many Jamestown parents left for private. If you can afford it, please avoid APS. It’s going down hill fast.


Why do you think that is? The overcrowding at the schools? Are they unable to attract good teachers? Is the entire system just poorly run?


This. Plus the fact that they flat out stopped teaching ANYTHING in March 2020. Virtual learning was a joke. They're more concerned about renaming things then actually teaching kids. It's no longer the good school district it used to be. Save your money, move elsewhere and put your kid in private.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 12:08     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We left for Catholic School last year. DC's N Arlington elementary school called and emailed me several times to ask us if we'd consider returning. No kidding.


They called you? That is fascinating. I thought they would be happy to get a bunch of families out from under APS given the overcrowding and all of the high density development and upzoning conversations.


DP but we're at DES and although we lost 100 kids, we lost classes/teachers too. So for example instead of 4 classes in a grade, there's 3 - that are at full capacity.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 10:52     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:We left for Catholic School last year. DC's N Arlington elementary school called and emailed me several times to ask us if we'd consider returning. No kidding.


They called you? That is fascinating. I thought they would be happy to get a bunch of families out from under APS given the overcrowding and all of the high density development and upzoning conversations.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 10:40     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
We left for Catholic School last year. DC's N Arlington elementary school called and emailed me several times to ask us if we'd consider returning. No kidding.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 10:40     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So many Jamestown parents left for private. If you can afford it, please avoid APS. It’s going down hill fast.


Why do you think that is? The overcrowding at the schools? Are they unable to attract good teachers? Is the entire system just poorly run?


Distance learning when COVID closed schools. It was sub-par, to say the least; and they can afford to send their kids wherever they want.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 10:16     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:So many Jamestown parents left for private. If you can afford it, please avoid APS. It’s going down hill fast.


Why do you think that is? The overcrowding at the schools? Are they unable to attract good teachers? Is the entire system just poorly run?
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 09:25     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the info!. Jamestown sounds like Big Little Lies. Maybe we will avoid that one.


Jamestown is a little like Big Little Lies, but still a great school. The principal is wonderful and there is low teacher turnover. There are a handful of DC transplants at Jamestown, many from capital hill. My kids have all enjoyed their experience there.

The Prom voting things was stupid, but those that chose to participate enjoyed it. Most people didn't participate. There was no pageant, and it wasn't just husbands voting for wives. I don't know anyone going to Europe for spring break. Most families do travel for spring break, but mostly in America. The bus comment sounds like some uniformed parent made a comment. The PTA never heard of this and certainly never suggested it. WGCC is certainly part of the vibe of the school, but only a small portion of families are actually members. There traditionally was an annual auction and party at WGCC but that hasn't happened since Feb 2020. About 20% of the families went to private school during Covid and many were the most well-off families, but for sure most families at Jamestown are well-off.

If you are staying in public school for middle and high school, you should consider that in your elem decision. All of Jamestown is zoned for WMS then YHS. Some of the other schools mentioned split to different middle schools and/or to different high schools.


Not OP, but Thanks for these details. Wow 20 percent? I knew people were leaving for private all over the region, but that’s a sobering statistic. Now what, another redistricting where they shift everyone north, or was the school already pretty overcrowded so that the attrition balanced it out?

OP- you should be ok with “your” ES and the nearest ones if any of your kids are very very young.


Discovery lost 100+ kids last year too to private. It would make sense to make one of the N. Arl school an option school since they are under capacity and the walking zones overlap in many cases.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 09:05     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
So many Jamestown parents left for private. If you can afford it, please avoid APS. It’s going down hill fast.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 08:23     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the info!. Jamestown sounds like Big Little Lies. Maybe we will avoid that one.


Not OP, but Thanks for these details. Wow 20 percent? I knew people were leaving for private all over the region, but that’s a sobering statistic. Now what, another redistricting where they shift everyone north, or was the school already pretty overcrowded so that the attrition balanced it out?

OP- you should be ok with “your” ES and the nearest ones if any of your kids are very very young.


No redistricting makes sense. The school will fill again soon with young families. New builds are going up all over.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 07:58     Subject: Re:Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the info!. Jamestown sounds like Big Little Lies. Maybe we will avoid that one.


Jamestown is a little like Big Little Lies, but still a great school. The principal is wonderful and there is low teacher turnover. There are a handful of DC transplants at Jamestown, many from capital hill. My kids have all enjoyed their experience there.

The Prom voting things was stupid, but those that chose to participate enjoyed it. Most people didn't participate. There was no pageant, and it wasn't just husbands voting for wives. I don't know anyone going to Europe for spring break. Most families do travel for spring break, but mostly in America. The bus comment sounds like some uniformed parent made a comment. The PTA never heard of this and certainly never suggested it. WGCC is certainly part of the vibe of the school, but only a small portion of families are actually members. There traditionally was an annual auction and party at WGCC but that hasn't happened since Feb 2020. About 20% of the families went to private school during Covid and many were the most well-off families, but for sure most families at Jamestown are well-off.

If you are staying in public school for middle and high school, you should consider that in your elem decision. All of Jamestown is zoned for WMS then YHS. Some of the other schools mentioned split to different middle schools and/or to different high schools.


Not OP, but Thanks for these details. Wow 20 percent? I knew people were leaving for private all over the region, but that’s a sobering statistic. Now what, another redistricting where they shift everyone north, or was the school already pretty overcrowded so that the attrition balanced it out?

OP- you should be ok with “your” ES and the nearest ones if any of your kids are very very young.
Anonymous
Post 02/22/2022 07:47     Subject: Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We looked at all these areas as well and have lived in Arlington for a very long time. I would say that from a wealth perspective Jamestown is one notch above the others. Remember Jamestown is the one where the parents did not want any boundary changes so were willing to pay out of their pocket for more buses specifically for Jamestown. This is not a joke, it was in the written public comments on the boundary process several years ago. Our top choice was Nottingham due to walkability, involvement of families in activities and things like that. From an education perspective they all seem about the same


NP. I don’t want to derail the thread but is this the culture at Jamestown or is it a small group of people? If this is a bigger issue than a small group of parents, we would like to avoid this school.


It was a comment by one person. Never anything advocated by the school community. This wouldn’t even be legal. Buses are allocated by APS and private citizens can’t charter a bus.

There has been all kinds of nonsense over the years with zoning. Tuckahoe and Nottingham got really insane a few years ago. Just don’t pay attention to it.


Thanks! I know people say a lot of crazy things during any public process. I was curious if it was a larger group since the comment involved parents personally paying for buses. Between that and the parent pageant comment it was starting to sound a little strange


Count me as an additional person who heard the advocacy suggesting they will pay for the additional buses themselves. It may not have been a position take by the PTA; but that doesn't mean the suggestion wasn't made. Regardless, the point is that Jamestown is at the top tier of wealth as a whole community v. other school communities in Arlington.


We have friends with kids there and they flat out told us teachers informally do not plan for major assignments Or tests the last couple days before spring break because most families are going on extended European vacations. They live in a 1.5 million home and feel like they’re at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid there.


The new homes there are closer to $3m.