Anonymous wrote:Sandy Munnell also posted a statement in favor of Key on Key. Am I really going to have to vote for Christina? https://sandyforschools.nationbuilder.com/key

I'm surprised by that. Her grandchildren go to Ashlawn, which would have been impacted the most if the moves didn't happen.

Anonymous wrote:Sandy Munnell also posted a statement in favor of Key on Key. Am I really going to have to vote for Christina? https://sandyforschools.nationbuilder.com/key

Not until someone asks her straight out what her position is and gets a straight answer.

Anonymous wrote:How certain are we that the new multi-story building at Reed will be fully accessible and won't have the same problems as Fleet? I have seen floor plans posted online but can't claim to be an expert on disability access. If there are any design choices at Reed that would burden people with disabilities, better to highlight those problems now while construction is still in the early stages.

Oh I don't trust them to get this right at all. What about the new HB building? That has a lot of stories.

Anonymous wrote:Sandy Munnell also posted a statement in favor of Key on Key. Am I really going to have to vote for Christina? https://sandyforschools.nationbuilder.com/key

Oh that is so very disappointing. Now I don't even feel lacklusterly content to vote for her. There is absolutely no candidate I can happily vote for.

Anonymous wrote:How certain are we that the new multi-story building at Reed will be fully accessible and won't have the same problems as Fleet? I have seen floor plans posted online but can't claim to be an expert on disability access. If there are any design choices at Reed that would burden people with disabilities, better to highlight those problems now while construction is still in the early stages.

I'm not at all certain. A lot of the Fleet stuff was not on their radar at all. Like making sure there are 2-way communications in an emergency and appropriate signage for first responders. And the TJ bus thing David Priddy mentioned is another issue. There are a few handicapped spaces above ground near TJ middle, but you can't get to them when buses are in the bus lane, they are totally blocked.

Even now APS has not committed to fixing all this stuff. That's why parents are still making speeches.

And SMH, who thinks parents are speaking out at board meetings in some perverse attempt to get attention? Do you truly believe that just because Chadwick said they are looking into it that means everything is now taking care of?

Sandy Munnell also posted a statement in favor of Key on Key. Am I really going to have to vote for Christina? https://sandyforschools.nationbuilder.com/key

Oh, man - Krieger just can’t let it rest. He is still bemoaning the decision that was made Thursday instead of looking ahead. Now he has a survey out - let’s help him get the perspective BEYOND Key. He seems to not get the complexity of years of growth driving hard choices on boundaries. 6 boundary changes in 8 years - yeah, because we opened Discovery, Fleet, Hamm and needed to adjust high school (don’t know what his other 2 changes were).

You do not need to enter your email to complete the survey.
https://s.surveyplanet.com/xmLy9cf_

******

This past Thursday, the Arlington School Board made a mistake.

On a 4 - 1 vote, they decided to put a bandaid on our school overcrowding problem by shifting students at Key, Arlington Traditional School, and McKinley into different buildings.

The School Board failed to follow their own policy on boundary changes and therefore did not consider vital data like the financial consequences of this decision, our goal of improving demographic diversity, or reducing opportunity gaps. Most importantly, they failed to consider the human impact of this change.

As I told WUSA9 this week, this decision won’t solve our capacity issues, and moving forward with this proposal without a proper review of its impacts is intellectually dishonest. Click here to watch and share the story on the school moves proposal and my opposition.

I love Arlington, and when Miriam and I were deciding where we wanted to settle down, we came here in part because of the stability offered by our school system. We wanted our kids to make friends at school and maintain those friendships through elementary, middle, and high school. Those are the types of relationships threatened by this change.

Kids need stability in their lives. Parents need the stability of getting to know other families, teachers, and school administrators over time.

Six boundary changes in eight years does not offer that stability. That brand of volatility is a clear sign that the current school board simply doesn’t have long-term solutions to improve our schools.

When I’m on the school board, I’m going to take a long-term approach to solving our problems and always put families first.

I stand with the seven Arlington PTA Presidents who called for a “holistic, twelve-month process” that includes a data-driven review of boundary changes. Putting more thought and research into our plans will mean real solutions that offer long-term stability for our families.

How certain are we that the new multi-story building at Reed will be fully accessible and won't have the same problems as Fleet? I have seen floor plans posted online but can't claim to be an expert on disability access. If there are any design choices at Reed that would burden people with disabilities, better to highlight those problems now while construction is still in the early stages.

+ 2 Yes, it's shameful. The construction stuff is not done well.

That's another + for Priddy as he's actually worked overseeing building projects and can help provide oversight to make sure this crap doesn't happen.

+ 1

I would also add that there are plenty of other problems that kids with special needs experience along these lines that have not gotten this type of attention or response, because parents often are not comfortable going public. APS should really be ashamed in how it treats kids with special needs. ASHAMED.

Long story/short, this issue is not done, and people still need to press APS for this. It's not just a Fleet issue, either. None of the multi-story buildings have a good way to exit for those in wheelchairs. Don't kid yourself that what they said Thursday is them fixing everything. It just finally got some movement when the mom went public with her story and the Fleet PTA, CCPTA, and other groups all pushed hard to back her.

The mom's story is really compelling, too. She was basically trying to do all this on her own for 6 months and they ignored her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that I'm not thrilled that Priddy came out against the moves. I took it as a statement though that APS needs to prove its case. I think they did better this time, but I do worry they are WAY under-resourced to handle a complete boundary re-do that is coming up next. And after watching the S Arlington process up close, he knows they screwed that up by leaving too many open seats at Fleet and Drew. So I can see why he's skeptical.

I did like that he's supporting the Fleet ADA stuff, and also pushing for needed fixes at TJ as well. That's an important issue.

Long story short, Priddy still has one of my votes.

Cristina/Steven will never get one of my votes. Sandy/Sims/Symone all might. And I can't even think of the 7th person right now!

Yes I was really thrilled with Priddy's support for kids with disabilities at Fleet.

Symone didn't do that. As a parent of a student with dyslexia, where was her support for the kid in the wheelchair at Fleet? She seems to only care about race and dyslexia.

Before the speakers got up didn't that Chadwick guy say it was going to be addressed? Why did all of the speakers pile on the ADA issue and waste time? Now it would have been useful it they spoke about it earlier in the year....but they just wanted some #MeToo time?

The one Fleet mom went to Fleet PTA in January and told her story. The PTA worked with her to start lobbying APS for these changes. Priddy was one of those parents. PTA wrote a letter and asked the school board to respond with its plan and a timeline.

The initial response was lacking. So various parents decided to go speak at the meeting. Thursday's announcement still doesn't fix everything. Doesn't address the emergency exit issue, for example.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that I'm not thrilled that Priddy came out against the moves. I took it as a statement though that APS needs to prove its case. I think they did better this time, but I do worry they are WAY under-resourced to handle a complete boundary re-do that is coming up next. And after watching the S Arlington process up close, he knows they screwed that up by leaving too many open seats at Fleet and Drew. So I can see why he's skeptical.

I did like that he's supporting the Fleet ADA stuff, and also pushing for needed fixes at TJ as well. That's an important issue.

Long story short, Priddy still has one of my votes.

Cristina/Steven will never get one of my votes. Sandy/Sims/Symone all might. And I can't even think of the 7th person right now!

Yes I was really thrilled with Priddy's support for kids with disabilities at Fleet.

Symone didn't do that. As a parent of a student with dyslexia, where was her support for the kid in the wheelchair at Fleet? She seems to only care about race and dyslexia.

Before the speakers got up didn't that Chadwick guy say it was going to be addressed? Why did all of the speakers pile on the ADA issue and waste time? Now it would have been useful it they spoke about it earlier in the year....but they just wanted some #MeToo time?

The speakers had already signed up and prepared their remarks before they knew that APS was going to actually provide an action plan that night. After a whole semester of not addressing it, everyone was surprised that they did it that night.

The cynic in me thinks that APS knew it was going to publicly hear from a group of people on Fleet and wanted to get out ahead of it so they would not look bad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that I'm not thrilled that Priddy came out against the moves. I took it as a statement though that APS needs to prove its case. I think they did better this time, but I do worry they are WAY under-resourced to handle a complete boundary re-do that is coming up next. And after watching the S Arlington process up close, he knows they screwed that up by leaving too many open seats at Fleet and Drew. So I can see why he's skeptical.

I did like that he's supporting the Fleet ADA stuff, and also pushing for needed fixes at TJ as well. That's an important issue.

Long story short, Priddy still has one of my votes.

Cristina/Steven will never get one of my votes. Sandy/Sims/Symone all might. And I can't even think of the 7th person right now!

Yes I was really thrilled with Priddy's support for kids with disabilities at Fleet.

Symone didn't do that. As a parent of a student with dyslexia, where was her support for the kid in the wheelchair at Fleet? She seems to only care about race and dyslexia.

Before the speakers got up didn't that Chadwick guy say it was going to be addressed? Why did all of the speakers pile on the ADA issue and waste time? Now it would have been useful it they spoke about it earlier in the year....but they just wanted some #MeToo time?

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, Symone is not a Fleet parent and Priddy is. She did chime in on AEM and say that she supports the effort. I don't know that any of the other candidates are paying attention to it.

I just went back and pulled up the AEM post from the Fleet parent who raised the issue. There were 79 comments in support but Symone was not one of them.

And anyways, even if she had posted on AEM, I'm looking for more than a facebook post. Priddy is not a parent of a student with a disability but he went and spoke on this to the School Board anyways. Symone is the parent of a student with dyslexia. So I guess I expected her to support other students with different disabilities. But she did not.