Elementary School Planning for 2021 – Nov. 2019 Questionnaire Responses

822 online responses, 18 hard copies and a response wall (in lieu of questionnaires) were received. The responses do not convey a vote.  Staff have used the feedback to gather a range of ideas as it determines how to focus the proposals while balancing the needs across stakeholders.

PDFs of all responses provided below.

What is your relationship to APS? You may select more than one.
Responses Responses % of total respondents
I am an APS Staff Member 80 10%
I am the Parent or Guardian of an Elementary Student in APS enrolled in a neighborhood school 413 50%
I am the Parent or Guardian of an Elementary Student in APS enrolled in an option school 192 23%
I am the Parent or Guardian of a Child(ren) in PreK in APS 46 6%
I am the Parent or Guardian of a Child(ren) not yet in PreK 127 15%
I am the Parent or Guardian of a Middle or High School Student in APS 130 16%
I am an APS Student 7 1%
I am an Arlington resident without school-age children 61 7%
Other (Please specify) 27 3%
(Did not answer) 0 0%
Total Responses 1,083
Multiple answers per participant possible. Percentages added may exceed 100 since a participant may select more than one answer for this question.

 

As we look at moving some of our schools given our challenges in creating neighborhood elementary boundaries in fall 2020, which goals should take priority? Please rank each of the following items in order of importance with #1 being the most important to #6 being the least important. 
Answer  Rank
Enable walking to neighborhood schools as much as possible 1
Use all existing elementary schools to full capacity 2
Keep as many students together in each school community as possible 3
Consider strategies that will best address recent student enrollment projections, which indicate that up to three new elementary schools may be needed in the next 10 years 4
Meet needs for seats in high-growth areas 5
Develop a plan that best utilizes existing school facilities located on available land in the County, which do not always match where neighborhood seats are needed for current and projected growth 6
Did Not Answer 9
Total Responses 822

 

As we look at moving some of our option schools, and the framework of the PreK 12-Instructional Program Pathways, which factors should take priority? Please rank each of the following items in order of importance with #1 being the most important to #4 being the least important.
Answer Rank
Moving option schools to increase access for more students 1
Option school is clearly defined in the PreK-12 Instructional Pathways (IPP) framework 2
Moving to a site that can accommodate current population (may include relocatable classrooms) 3
Long waitlist that could fill building to capacity 4
Did Not Answer 10
Total Responses 822

 

To what degree do you support moving some schools, so APS can:
Provide neighborhood seats in parts of the county where these are needed and APS doesn’t have additional land for a new school
Answer Responses % of total respondents
Strongly Support 266 32%
Support 225 27%
Neutral 138 17%
Do Not Support 59 7%
Strongly Do Not Support 126 15%
(Did not answer) 8 1%
Total Responses 822

 

To what degree do you support moving some schools, so APS can:
Limit the growth of APS transportation so annual operating costs can be focused on other needs
Answer Responses % of total respondents
Strongly Support 276 34%
Support 155 19%
Neutral 161 20%
Do Not Support 90 11%
Strongly Do Not Support 132 16%
(Did not answer) 8 1%
Total Responses 822

Verbatim responses from the Elementary School Planning Community Questionnaire

 

Questionnaire Responses1_100 Questionnaire Responses 101_200 Questionnaire Responses 201-300 Questionnaire Responses 301_400
Questionnaire Responses 401_500 Questionnaire Responses 501_600  Questionnaire Responses 601_700 Questionnaire Responses 701_800
 Questionnaire Responses 801_822  Hard copy responses to be posted  Response wall – to be posted