How many classes per grade have been added at Ashlawn, McKinley, Oakridge in the same period? At least 2. Maybe 3.
For what it is worth, I don't have a kid old enough to apply for HB and turned down a spot at ATS. This isn't bitter. This is just fatigue after years of disinformation in the interest of self-preservation by HB and ATS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have increased the size of H-B twice recently and it will increase in the new building. H-B's high school capacity is 390 and its enrollment last year was 451, so they are at 115%--that is actually the highest for any high school. High school will be 475 in the new building. Middle school program is 221 at Stop with the fake news.

Firstly, it’s sad that you have to revert to the vile tactic of calling anything you don’t like or agree with fake news. Why can’t you just provide your facts?

Secondly, it’s great that HB has increased their enrollment twice, but so has just about every other APS school but on a much larger scale. If HB is doing it’s part, why was the lottery for 6th grade MS just 75? Isn’t that 100% capacity? If the class size will increase to 100 in the new building, why not admit 100 6th grader’s next year? That will bring them to 133% capacity for 6th grade 2018-19, on par with other Middle schools., and back to 100% the following year.

Look, someone said

We should at least advocate for their numbers to increase as overall APS enrollment increases. The program can be just as successful with slightly larger class sizes. To always remain at just 100% capacity while other schools are overcrowded just doesn't make sense.

which is just not true, and easily disproven with publicly available information. I.e., fake news.

Also, as noted, they are already over capacity in middle school and high school and they are going to increase it as soon as they have the new building. The current building doesn't have the indoor or outdoor space for more kids or trailers and unlike other schools they have made no accommodations for more classes (apart from the 3 relocatables) because they are going to renovate the building next summer anyhow.

Finally, everyone seems to just forget about the Stratford program. H-B is not the only program moving to the Wilson building. Several dozen students with significant physical and mental disabilities are moving along with H-B and will occupy two floors. That accounts for a lot of the building's capacity.

Don't bother, PP. You're interfering with some alternative facts that some people hold dear and they won't listen. You're right, of course, but that doesn't matter as long as people just want to complain about H-B.

Everyone who wants HB to expand can always lobby for the SB to create HB2 at either the Ed Center or the Career Center, since they have not decided on the instructional focus at either of those two sites for the new high school seats.

I don't have a dog in this fight, just suggesting.

Anonymous wrote:No, ATS and HB have not expanded significantly. Your percentages mean nothing when you are talking about a MIDDLE SCHOOL and HIGH SCHOOL enrollment that is barely bigger than the incoming class of 6th graders at Swanson.
You know what schools HAVE expanded significantly in recent years: Oakridge, McKinley, Ashlawn, Claremont, Swanson, Williamsburg, W-L. Please don't insult our intelligence re: HB and ATS.

ATS has expanded several grades by about 20% (adding a whole new class per grade). How is that not significant? What percent would you find acceptable? And, please include how many kids in each of those schools would satisfy you even if your kids still didn't get in?

No, ATS and HB have not expanded significantly. Your percentages mean nothing when you are talking about a MIDDLE SCHOOL and HIGH SCHOOL enrollment that is barely bigger than the incoming class of 6th graders at Swanson.
You know what schools HAVE expanded significantly in recent years: Oakridge, McKinley, Ashlawn, Claremont, Swanson, Williamsburg, W-L. Please don't insult our intelligence re: HB and ATS.

Anonymous wrote:Look. HB should be bigger. It's ridiculous to have a school admitting 75 people when the HB waitlist from a SINGLE elementary school can exceed 100. It's not reasonable for us to be funding these exclusive programs that serve too small a number of kids (not special needs kids!). Defenders claim the program is so special that it can't expand. ATS makes the same ridiculous arguments about its weekly assemblies. Spare us. We get that you have the political clout to fight this (particularly some of the just-coincidentally admitted kids of parents who are super active in the Arlington Dems). But please don't think we're naive enough to buy your talking points.

+100. It's part of the systemic mismanagement in APS. They are more interested in having a few small programs that make APS look, at least on the surface, like it has a lot of options than planning wisely and delivering high-quality services that meet the needs of all students.

Anonymous wrote:Look. HB should be bigger.

It's expanding next year when they move to a new building. Sorry that's a year too late for Larla.

It's ridiculous to have a school admitting 75 people when the HB waitlist from a SINGLE elementary school can exceed 100.

I have a hard time working up a lot of sympathy for people who can afford to live in the Discovery/Nottingham/Taylor boundaries. You made your choices.

It's not reasonable for us to be funding these exclusive programs that serve too small a number of kids (not special needs kids!).

You are not paying one cent more than you would for the kids to attend any other school. (And don't start on the busing, because H-B doesn't have a pool and most kids don't play sports.)

Defenders claim the program is so special that it can't expand. ATS makes the same ridiculous arguments about its weekly assemblies. Spare us.

It has expanded, as explained above. And will expand more, in its new building. ATS has also expanded significantly in recent years.

We get that you have the political clout to fight this (particularly some of the just-coincidentally admitted kids of parents who are super active in the Arlington Dems).

The conspiracy theories are ridiculous, it was an open lottery. There are people who meet every conspirist's criteria (APS volunteer, ACDC member, sibling at HB) and their kid is far down the wait list.

But please don't think we're naive enough to buy your talking points.

It's not propaganda, just stating (and restating) facts that people keep (apparently deliberately) ignoring to fit a self-pitying narrative. My kids were waitlisted too, both times we entered. But it drives me nuts when people fling around fake stories to drum up anger about things that aren't true.

Look. HB should be bigger. It's ridiculous to have a school admitting 75 people when the HB waitlist from a SINGLE elementary school can exceed 100. It's not reasonable for us to be funding these exclusive programs that serve too small a number of kids (not special needs kids!). Defenders claim the program is so special that it can't expand. ATS makes the same ridiculous arguments about its weekly assemblies. Spare us. We get that you have the political clout to fight this (particularly some of the just-coincidentally admitted kids of parents who are super active in the Arlington Dems). But please don't think we're naive enough to buy your talking points.

Anonymous wrote:Secondly, it’s great that HB has increased their enrollment twice, but so has just about every other APS school but on a much larger scale. If HB is doing it’s part, why was the lottery for 6th grade MS just 75? Isn’t that 100% capacity? If the class size will increase to 100 in the new building, why not admit 100 6th grader’s next year? That will bring them to 133% capacity for 6th grade 2018-19, on par with other Middle schools., and back to 100% the following year.
------------
Amen.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have increased the size of H-B twice recently and it will increase in the new building. H-B's high school capacity is 390 and its enrollment last year was 451, so they are at 115%--that is actually the highest for any high school. High school will be 475 in the new building. Middle school program is 221 at Stop with the fake news.

Firstly, it’s sad that you have to revert to the vile tactic of calling anything you don’t like or agree with fake news. Why can’t you just provide your facts?

Secondly, it’s great that HB has increased their enrollment twice, but so has just about every other APS school but on a much larger scale. If HB is doing it’s part, why was the lottery for 6th grade MS just 75? Isn’t that 100% capacity? If the class size will increase to 100 in the new building, why not admit 100 6th grader’s next year? That will bring them to 133% capacity for 6th grade 2018-19, on par with other Middle schools., and back to 100% the following year.

The lottery may be factored for 100% capacity, but there will also be the students who are ushered in through the back door, hush hush process by admins who are willing to grant favors. Yes, I know a kid who got in this way- no special needs, just a parent with a special friend in the right place. The lottery doesn’t account for every admit.