Anonymous wrote:Our daughter was in Kenmore for a month when we realized that we had to scramble to get her out. Fortunately found a private with an open seat. It was not a safe environment for her in any sense of the word. She also did not appear to be learning anything.

Nobody learns much the first month of school.
But sorry to hear about the negative environment.

Our daughter was in Kenmore for a month when we realized that we had to scramble to get her out. Fortunately found a private with an open seat. It was not a safe environment for her in any sense of the word. She also did not appear to be learning anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

It happens at every middle school- police are always there. Maybe not group fights, but something else.

APS started sending text alerts after a bunch of parents complained they did not know when police were there.

So now the big thing is if the school shares with parents or not when ems is on campus.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/amid-a-rise-in-bad-behavior-an-arlington-middle-school-changes-rules.amp

The EMS alerts from Kenmore are not all group fights, and that’s not happening weekly. OP, your kid would not be a target of these fights. It’s among kids who have known each other previously from ES, and they keep to themselves. It’s very likely your student wouldn’t be in any classes with the group known for fighting. Maybe they might see something at lunch or in PE, but it will not involve them. This will be the case at any school that has a “diverse” population, so all of them, except WMS and maybe DHMS. But they’re still MS kids, so those schools aren’t without issues.

As much as it pains me to say it, Kenmore is a very segregated school. Kids from vastly different backgrounds and home situations are in a building together, but really don’t mix. They often aren’t in the same core classes, electives, or extracurricular activities. It’s more segregated along SES lines than race/ethnicity, but unfortunately that’s also largely correlated to race/ethnicity. My student has friends from ES that are “outliers” so to speak, but it’s because despite their race/ethnicity/SES they have really involved parents who make sure their kids are placed in the higher level classes, and get scholarships for them to participate in pricey extracurricular activities so they maintain that connection to the peer group (outside of school) that can afford travel sports, private music lessons, etc.

I think your student would be safe and do well at Kenmore. It’s been an eye opener for me and my kid, for sure, but that’s not necessarily an indictment of the school. If anything, it’s an indictment of our nation, our culture, our segregated county, our racially charged past that continues to harm and separate our kids and provides unequal opportunities, from birth, that really limit kids’ potential, which becomes more apparent the older the kids become. They are beginning to realize it, too, and I suspect that’s a large part of the root of their anger/frustration. Kids who have nothing to lose and are already struggling at school aren’t really deterred by suspension.

+100 to all of this.
And in regards to the bolded, this is why desegregation needs to start in elementary school. Actually before, in neighborhoods and preschool. But diverse elementary schools would go a long way to resolving problems. Arlington parents are more supportive of a ranked-choice admissions system for high school; but not for elementary. Elementary is where it is most needed. The same social and academic segregation continues in our high schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

It happens at every middle school- police are always there. Maybe not group fights, but something else.

APS started sending text alerts after a bunch of parents complained they did not know when police were there.

So now the big thing is if the school shares with parents or not when ems is on campus.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/amid-a-rise-in-bad-behavior-an-arlington-middle-school-changes-rules.amp

The EMS alerts from Kenmore are not all group fights, and that’s not happening weekly. OP, your kid would not be a target of these fights. It’s among kids who have known each other previously from ES, and they keep to themselves. It’s very likely your student wouldn’t be in any classes with the group known for fighting. Maybe they might see something at lunch or in PE, but it will not involve them. This will be the case at any school that has a “diverse” population, so all of them, except WMS and maybe DHMS. But they’re still MS kids, so those schools aren’t without issues.

As much as it pains me to say it, Kenmore is a very segregated school. Kids from vastly different backgrounds and home situations are in a building together, but really don’t mix. They often aren’t in the same core classes, electives, or extracurricular activities. It’s more segregated along SES lines than race/ethnicity, but unfortunately that’s also largely correlated to race/ethnicity. My student has friends from ES that are “outliers” so to speak, but it’s because despite their race/ethnicity/SES they have really involved parents who make sure their kids are placed in the higher level classes, and get scholarships for them to participate in pricey extracurricular activities so they maintain that connection to the peer group (outside of school) that can afford travel sports, private music lessons, etc.

I think your student would be safe and do well at Kenmore. It’s been an eye opener for me and my kid, for sure, but that’s not necessarily an indictment of the school. If anything, it’s an indictment of our nation, our culture, our segregated county, our racially charged past that continues to harm and separate our kids and provides unequal opportunities, from birth, that really limit kids’ potential, which becomes more apparent the older the kids become. They are beginning to realize it, too, and I suspect that’s a large part of the root of their anger/frustration. Kids who have nothing to lose and are already struggling at school aren’t really deterred by suspension.

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

It happens at every middle school- police are always there. Maybe not group fights, but something else.

APS started sending text alerts after a bunch of parents complained they did not know when police were there.

So now the big thing is if the school shares with parents or not when ems is on campus.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/amid-a-rise-in-bad-behavior-an-arlington-middle-school-changes-rules.amp

Ashlawn / Swanson family. We love the sense of community at Ashlawn and have 2 kids identified as gifted in all academic subject + music. The APS program for gifted services is anemic but I think the Gifted coordinator at Ashlawn does a great job within the constraints of the program she has to work within.

I’ve heard more than a few Ashlawn / Kenmore moms confess that they prefer Kenmore for gifted kids because their kids can be big fish in a small pond - while the rumor is that there are more gifted / high achieving students at Swanson than there are spots in the advanced classes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have W-L high schoolers that came up through the Ashlawn/Kenmore pyramid. Neither of them ever struggle to keep up in HS. Kenmore is fine.

That’s because high school standards are lower overall. Schools are not preparing students for college. Even the smartest students struggle.

https://nataliewexler.substack.com/p/the-college-kids-are-not-all-right?r=6il9h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true

The regular (baseline) classes in high school are now very basic. But they used to be quite challenging 20 years ago. You could not coast by at all.

Depending on where they came from (for middle school), students at W-L are either well prepared or unfortunately unprepared for the academic rigour of the higher level classes in 9th grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

School districts are slowly bringing back resource officers. Despite all the drawbacks, their presence was a deterrence to drugs and fights in APS and elsewhere.

I think that’s true regarding some districts but there doesn’t seem to be a plan to bring them back in Arlington or am I wrong? I have elementary school kids and I thought that having school resource officers in schools was crazy. But clearly I was wrong!

There’s no plan in Arlington to bring back resource officers. Other districts yes. But not here.

Anonymous wrote:I have W-L high schoolers that came up through the Ashlawn/Kenmore pyramid. Neither of them ever struggle to keep up in HS. Kenmore is fine.

That’s because high school standards are lower overall. Schools are not preparing students for college. Even the smartest students struggle.

https://nataliewexler.substack.com/p/the-college-kids-are-not-all-right?r=6il9h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

School districts are slowly bringing back resource officers. Despite all the drawbacks, their presence was a deterrence to drugs and fights in APS and elsewhere.

I think that’s true regarding some districts but there doesn’t seem to be a plan to bring them back in Arlington or am I wrong? I have elementary school kids and I thought that having school resource officers in schools was crazy. But clearly I was wrong!

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

School districts are slowly bringing back resource officers. Despite all the drawbacks, their presence was a deterrence to drugs and fights in APS and elsewhere.

I can’t imagine sending my kid to a middle school and receiving weekly EMS alerts about group fights.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a ghost town and APS will have to move Swanson kids there as ballston continue to explode with apartments.

Not sure what will happen to ashlawn kids that go to kenmore. Ashlawn has kids that go to 2 ms and 2 hs. Although most ashlawn kids waiver out of Yorktown for w&l. They get some sort of pass for some reason.

Swanson as a facility sucks. Old and should be raised to the ground. Pick your poison between kenmore or Swanson - kenmore has a great facility but is diverse. So if you want to stay with the white kids in a terrible building or the diverse kids in nice building they round out all things considered about equally miserable.

Swanson is a beautiful classic colonial revival building with a nice front lawn. It can be renovated, but not demolished since it is an Arlington County Hostoric District like Dorothy Hamm MS.

LOL.

“Nice front lawn”?
Sure - playing on that front lawn next to Washington Blvd is every parents dream for their kids. Hell, dropping off your kids there can be fatal.

It’s a dump - I do not care how old it is. Fields suck, ugly and should be leveled.

The lawn comment makes no sense. The front lawn actually buffers the school from the busy street, and it is safely removed from traffic up on a hill. No one is “playing on it” as you describe. It is used for passive activities.

Swanson is a County Historic District so it won’t be demolished and no need to waste time discussing what won’t happen. Also, the historic auditorium with the wood paneling won’t be destroyed. And APS recently spent extra money fo brand new bespoke windows to replace the original arched windows at the old gym, about 5 years ago.

Recall that many people said the old Stratford Jr High building (where HB Woodlawn was) was an old dump, but now that it’s been remodeled it’s an incredible facility. Both Swanson and Williamsburg could use a similar renovation.

But I’m more concerned about TJ. That is the middle school most in need of a complete replacement according to the consultants. Most classrooms lack windows, and the rooms are made from thin 70s-era partitions. The school doesn’t meet current educational standards. Not to mention schools built in the 1970s like TJ look like literal prisons, and few remain in use today.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williamsburg is a ghost town and APS will have to move Swanson kids there as ballston continue to explode with apartments.

Not sure what will happen to ashlawn kids that go to kenmore. Ashlawn has kids that go to 2 ms and 2 hs. Although most ashlawn kids waiver out of Yorktown for w&l. They get some sort of pass for some reason.

Swanson as a facility sucks. Old and should be raised to the ground. Pick your poison between kenmore or Swanson - kenmore has a great facility but is diverse. So if you want to stay with the white kids in a terrible building or the diverse kids in nice building they round out all things considered about equally miserable.

Swanson is a beautiful classic colonial revival building with a nice front lawn. It can be renovated, but not demolished since it is an Arlington County Hostoric District like Dorothy Hamm MS.

LOL.

“Nice front lawn”?
Sure - playing on that front lawn next to Washington Blvd is every parents dream for their kids. Hell, dropping off your kids there can be fatal.

It’s a dump - I do not care how old it is. Fields suck, ugly and should be leveled.

Has a good experience with Long Branch and the community around it is a great place to live - people are engaged and kids can freely walk to each other’s houses. Gifted services were fairly limited, as they are across APS.