Former South Arlington parent now a North Arlington parent. We were in one of the title I schools, now at one of the wealthier schools. We moved our daughter between 3rd and 4th grade. She was behind from day 1. She was not "gifted" but did well in her prior school. We spent the first 6 months getting her on track with all the other kids in the class. It was a bit embarrassing. She is fine now, 1.5 years later.

Yep. That's all true.

It isn't just the SOLs. The kids in the wealthier schools in north arlington are generally doing more advanced work. I know all the schools are supposed to teach the same thing, but I keep hearing from friends in north arlington with kids in the same grade about more advanced work. The classroom goes into more depth on the subjects, or starts new subjects earlier. They are ahead and it shows on the advance pass rates on the SOLs. If kids are consistently learning more in wealthier schools than the poorer schools then over time there is a difference that is measureable beyond SOLs.

They have more afterschool enrichment as well. Much much more. More chess, computers, coding, math, science enrichment that add to classroom learning.

It's all about what's important to you.

Many are fine with good enough until 3rd grade. That’s when you start to see a difference.
Does it matter that your umc kid is scoring 8 points below a similar kid at Nottingham on the sol’s?
Probably not a huge deal in the grand scheme of life.
Or maybe It is a huge deal, as the beginning years of education are the most important.
I don’t know.

PP, you got it right.

Families at many of these schools (Barcroft, Randolph) are fine with good enough. The ones who aren't leave. The ones who are stay. That's why hopeful K and 1st grade parents always talk about how happy everyone in the neighborhood is with the school. Self selection. The unhappy ones left. Ask about them.

Exactly. It’s not only that people can’t make PTA meetings. They don’t see the importance and aren’t going to get involved. They just won’t.

Lots of delusional thinking on this thread.
Can’t wait for APS to break out their adorable little boundary map tool and people can see exactly how many kids are on free and reduced lunch per unit.
The numbers are insurmountable at a couple of these schools. 10 apts to 1 SFH. 10 apts that have continual turn over. SFH neighborhoods grow up in waves. They cycle every decade or so. Not complexes like the Green Briar. There is a new family replacing the last every few years. There is always a new group of children.

There is no good answer. Other than just deal with your kid not getting the same quality education as kids at Jamestown or Discovery. Just be ok with good enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a very active PTA at our S. Arlington school. We have some SAHMs but most appear to be dual income families. We had a party this morning and out of 24 kids I think 12 had parents there? Maybe more? Some both parents. So it is not that crazy to have lots of parents involved (we are a choice school though)

Oakridge?

No, Claremont. There is an insane amount of parental involvement and activities (almost overwhelming!).

Yep, not surprising. At a choice school, parents have already displayed a high level of engagement just by sending their children there. That's the flip side of the PTA quandary at schools with large numbers of poor kids. It's not just that their parents don't have time or resources to come tribute. It's also that the parents who are motivated used those energies first to avoid said school and then to enrich the alternative. It's a double whammy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a very active PTA at our S. Arlington school. We have some SAHMs but most appear to be dual income families. We had a party this morning and out of 24 kids I think 12 had parents there? Maybe more? Some both parents. So it is not that crazy to have lots of parents involved (we are a choice school though)

Oakridge?

No, Claremont. There is an insane amount of parental involvement and activities (almost overwhelming!).

Anonymous wrote:We have a very active PTA at our S. Arlington school. We have some SAHMs but most appear to be dual income families. We had a party this morning and out of 24 kids I think 12 had parents there? Maybe more? Some both parents. So it is not that crazy to have lots of parents involved (we are a choice school though)

Oakridge?

We have a very active PTA at our S. Arlington school. We have some SAHMs but most appear to be dual income families. We had a party this morning and out of 24 kids I think 12 had parents there? Maybe more? Some both parents. So it is not that crazy to have lots of parents involved (we are a choice school though)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One point of clarification: I don't think they're removing the sibling preference at the choice schools. It would disadvantage too many families, especially those where you don't have a SAHM or other caregiver. Can you imagine a single parent trying to get a 2nd grader to ATS or Key and a Kindergarten student to Abingdon every day?

They are choices that the family has made. If it's too inconvenient, they can always send their kids - all of them - to their neighborhood school. Not everyone gets to opt out of their neighborhood school. There are choices. There are trade-offs. Make the choice - don't complain about the trade-offs.

In other words, "suck it single moms!" Seriously, you're basically saying all these choice programs should only be for those with the means to get their young children to and from different elementary schools. We're not talking middle or high school here, those students are perfectly able to get themselves to school and home on their own. We're talking 5, 6, 7-year old kids.

Parent-teacher conferences are on the same day. How does this mom get to two schools on a work day? How does she participate in her kid's school activities when they're taking place at the same time? Sounds like a recipe for undermining the choice schools, or making them so selective they only benefit a very specific set of families in Arlington.

AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ON THE TABLE. Sibling preference is NOT GOING ANYWHERE at the elementary level. And yes, this is something being pushed by people who want to undermine option schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One point of clarification: I don't think they're removing the sibling preference at the choice schools. It would disadvantage too many families, especially those where you don't have a SAHM or other caregiver. Can you imagine a single parent trying to get a 2nd grader to ATS or Key and a Kindergarten student to Abingdon every day?

They are choices that the family has made. If it's too inconvenient, they can always send their kids - all of them - to their neighborhood school. Not everyone gets to opt out of their neighborhood school. There are choices. There are trade-offs. Make the choice - don't complain about the trade-offs.

In other words, "suck it single moms!" Seriously, you're basically saying all these choice programs should only be for those with the means to get their young children to and from different elementary schools. We're not talking middle or high school here, those students are perfectly able to get themselves to school and home on their own. We're talking 5, 6, 7-year old kids.

Parent-teacher conferences are on the same day. How does this mom get to two schools on a work day? How does she participate in her kid's school activities when they're taking place at the same time? Sounds like a recipe for undermining the choice schools, or making them so selective they only benefit a very specific set of families in Arlington.

PP here, yes there are lots of UMC families moving to Barcroft, but they are not adding anything because the UMC families are already there. It isn't like there are empty lots with new families coming in. There is a significant turn over from families who move away because of the schools. Yes, they do. They leave because their kids are getting old enough to go to elementary school and they want better choices. They move in the middle of elementary school because they are less than impressed with Barcroft. They move to avoid Kenmore. In my 6 years in the neighborhood I have seen each of these scenarios multiple times. I have seen families move in because their kids are at Immersion and they can avoid all of the local schools so they can take advantage of the much cheaper housing costs (compared to North Arlington). So, I disagree that more and more UMC families are moving in and changing things. The only change will be redevelopment along the Pike to more expensive housing and fewer kids going to choice schools. There are CAFs along the Pike that will always be CAFs. Then there is Columbia Gardens and Barcroft Apartments, both are run-down MARKs that are not going anywhere.

If Alcova is rezoned out of Barcroft, not only will the school be greatly underutilized, it will have probably 70-80% FARMs and the Barcroft UMC who can afford it will leave. I have heard over a dozen families already say so. It will completely tank the school and frankly, the neighborhood.