My older child is a rising 8th grader at Hamm. She loves walking to school every morning. I think it gives kids a sense of independence. I would like my youngest to attend the same middle as her sister and enjoy that same freedom. Makes no sense to split Taylor kids up.
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Megan McKenzie
3 years ago
Featured
Please reconsider this proposal for those who live close by. Hamm is 0.2 miles from our home. With the time it will take my child to walk to the bus to Williamsburg and wait for it to arrive, he could have walked to Hamm.
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Evelyn Powers
3 years ago
One of the big reasons APS sold us on HB Woodlawn moving was to have a walkable middle school for the Donaldson Run neighborhood. A logical dividing line is anyone east of Old Dominion Dr/Glebe attends Dorothy Hamm. Anything west goes to Williamsburg. It's absurd to bus children who live less than ½ mile from DH to Williamsburg.
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Kaarli Sundsmo
3 years ago
Please prioritize our walkers!
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Jeff Walpole
3 years ago
Please don’t this change. We are .4 miles from Hamm (walking distance) but 1.9 miles from Williamsburg. Also our first child was in the first class at Hamm for its opening so we had to deal with that chaos but now that the kinks are worked out, we have to move for our second child.
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Meredith Jaeckel
3 years ago
Both of my children have or do attend DHMS. Both of my children have had the benefit of walking to school. My kids love walking to school and opt to walk regardless of the weather.
Our community promotes living a car-free lifetstyle, we are seeing the daily effects of climate change, the benefits of walking to school/work are well understood and APS already has a shortage of bus drivers. This proposed solution seems to cause more problems than it solves.
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Elena Manville
3 years ago
Having a neighborhood middle school again has been one of the best things to happen in Donaldson Run in decades. Please don’t bus children again when they can walk close to home.
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Church Hutton
3 years ago
Father of 1 current and 2 future Hamm walkers. Please do not re-district us to a school 10 minutes away by bus.
C
Campbell Hutton
3 years ago
I have one child who will be a 7th grader at Hamm this coming year and 2 younger children at Taylor who will be at Hamm in 5 and 6 years. I have seen the benefits that my older child has had walking to school this past year and I am extremely concerned that my other children may not have the same benefits. All students within the walking distance to a school should be zoned for that school. Anything different is bad for students and bad for the community.
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Katharine Weiss
3 years ago
My family and I live 0.4 miles walking from Dorothy Hamm and was shocked to learn of the proposal to bus 2.7 miles to another school. In addition to the concerns many have cited around environmental impact, traffic, cost given the bus driver shortage, and reduced independence for our children, as two working parents we’re also concerned with the extra logistical burden to pick up our kids after after school activities when at Hamm they would simply walk the <10 minute walk home. Especially given that Hamm is not at full capacity, it’s hard to understand how the Williamsburg bussing scheme is a net positive for students and families who already live so close to Hamm.
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David Humphries
3 years ago
I strongly support keeping the walk zone students attending DHMS, and similarly to continue for Taylor population to attend DHMS in entirety -- the Taylor population outside of DHMS walk zone would be too small to reasonably rezone elsewhere. APS can ill effort to expend resources for more buses and drivers to bus students away from the DHMS walk zone.
A
Asif Faiz
3 years ago
Increased bus trips ( diesel, gasoline, and CNG powered buses) contribute primarily to direct GHG emissions, namely C02 and Methane.
Also the school boundaries should adhere to basic transport planning principles. This implies that the boundary should follow a geographical line that makes trip length by walking, cycling or driving equidistant from the two middle schools. As a minimum, the substitute bus trip to the proposed middle school should not be longer in time than the walking or cycling trip to the current middle school for the affected households in the area of influence of Hamm school.
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Michael Weiss
3 years ago
We have two young children and live just a few blocks from Hamm. We value the independence our children will receive by walking to school, whether it be during standard hours, or from after-school activities when no busses would be available from a significantly more distant school.
While I appreciate the efforts to most effectively allocate students with available resources, I do not believe this proposal meets that goal. It is neither desirable for the community or a good use of our budget to bus students who could otherwise walk to school.
A
AJ Foreit
3 years ago
In addition to the comments in the petition, I wish to point out that forcing students who are close to Hamm to attend Williamsburg will increase the number of parents driving their children to school - quite the opposite of the stated APS desires at literally every school in the county. The rezoning decision is wrong for childrens' health, wrong for traffic congestion and pollution, and wrong for Arlington.
A
Anonymous
3 years ago
Moving children who are walking distance to DHMS to bussing 3 miles away is counterintuitive because:
1. There is a school bus driver shortage.
2. It goes against climate science.
3. It goes against child health science.
4. It goes against any assertion that there are budget constraints when you take away something that is free to APS (walking) in favor of an unnecessary expense (bussing). If APS has money to burn, I have a very long list of things the system is lacking that should be addressed ahead of this.
S
Sheila Kelly
3 years ago
Both my kids went to DHMS (from Taylor)--walking every day. It was so beneficial to them in so many ways--exercise, socialization (easier to stay after school, go to friends' houses, etc) not to mention sleep. In particular, my older son went to Swanson for 6th and had to get up at 6:30 to make a 7:10 bus pick-up. Once DHMS opened for his 7th grade, he could get a full half-hour more sleep every night. It was so much better for him. Please don't do this to the Taylor/DHMS community. It's so unfair to kids who wouldn't deserve this under any circumstances, but have already suffered so much w/ pandemic school closures/disruptions. Pls end this wrongheaded proposal.
A
Adrienne Honigstock
3 years ago
APS failed to uphold the agreement made in 2014 to the community to keep the Taylor cohort mostly together as these kids transition to middle school. This proposal fails to take into account the shortage of bus drivers we already have by adding additional bus routes.
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Jay Honigstock
3 years ago
APS already has a shortage of bus drivers. Taking students who can walk to school and bussing them will increase costs in an area where APS already faces a budget shortfall. APS needs to relook this proposal. Bussing students to Williamsburg who can walk to Hamm is not a reasonable solution economically or socially. Such an ill-informed decision also undermines the agreement made with the community in 2014 when Hamm’s site was chosen and walkability keeping students together were high priorities. Let’s be strategic about these decisions and not whipsaw communities every few years.
A
Anonymous
3 years ago
I greatly support this.
A
Anonymous
3 years ago
We live just north of Lorcom on vacation Lane. I understand rebalancing the cachement areas for each school to ensure the numbers of students are equitable, but I hope there is more consideration for proximity
My older child is a rising 8th grader at Hamm. She loves walking to school every morning. I think it gives kids a sense of independence. I would like my youngest to attend the same middle as her sister and enjoy that same freedom. Makes no sense to split Taylor kids up.
Please reconsider this proposal for those who live close by. Hamm is 0.2 miles from our home. With the time it will take my child to walk to the bus to Williamsburg and wait for it to arrive, he could have walked to Hamm.
One of the big reasons APS sold us on HB Woodlawn moving was to have a walkable middle school for the Donaldson Run neighborhood. A logical dividing line is anyone east of Old Dominion Dr/Glebe attends Dorothy Hamm. Anything west goes to Williamsburg. It's absurd to bus children who live less than ½ mile from DH to Williamsburg.
Please prioritize our walkers!
Please don’t this change. We are .4 miles from Hamm (walking distance) but 1.9 miles from Williamsburg. Also our first child was in the first class at Hamm for its opening so we had to deal with that chaos but now that the kinks are worked out, we have to move for our second child.
Both of my children have or do attend DHMS. Both of my children have had the benefit of walking to school. My kids love walking to school and opt to walk regardless of the weather. Our community promotes living a car-free lifetstyle, we are seeing the daily effects of climate change, the benefits of walking to school/work are well understood and APS already has a shortage of bus drivers. This proposed solution seems to cause more problems than it solves.
Having a neighborhood middle school again has been one of the best things to happen in Donaldson Run in decades. Please don’t bus children again when they can walk close to home.
Father of 1 current and 2 future Hamm walkers. Please do not re-district us to a school 10 minutes away by bus.
I have one child who will be a 7th grader at Hamm this coming year and 2 younger children at Taylor who will be at Hamm in 5 and 6 years. I have seen the benefits that my older child has had walking to school this past year and I am extremely concerned that my other children may not have the same benefits. All students within the walking distance to a school should be zoned for that school. Anything different is bad for students and bad for the community.
My family and I live 0.4 miles walking from Dorothy Hamm and was shocked to learn of the proposal to bus 2.7 miles to another school. In addition to the concerns many have cited around environmental impact, traffic, cost given the bus driver shortage, and reduced independence for our children, as two working parents we’re also concerned with the extra logistical burden to pick up our kids after after school activities when at Hamm they would simply walk the <10 minute walk home. Especially given that Hamm is not at full capacity, it’s hard to understand how the Williamsburg bussing scheme is a net positive for students and families who already live so close to Hamm.
I strongly support keeping the walk zone students attending DHMS, and similarly to continue for Taylor population to attend DHMS in entirety -- the Taylor population outside of DHMS walk zone would be too small to reasonably rezone elsewhere. APS can ill effort to expend resources for more buses and drivers to bus students away from the DHMS walk zone.
Increased bus trips ( diesel, gasoline, and CNG powered buses) contribute primarily to direct GHG emissions, namely C02 and Methane. Also the school boundaries should adhere to basic transport planning principles. This implies that the boundary should follow a geographical line that makes trip length by walking, cycling or driving equidistant from the two middle schools. As a minimum, the substitute bus trip to the proposed middle school should not be longer in time than the walking or cycling trip to the current middle school for the affected households in the area of influence of Hamm school.
We have two young children and live just a few blocks from Hamm. We value the independence our children will receive by walking to school, whether it be during standard hours, or from after-school activities when no busses would be available from a significantly more distant school. While I appreciate the efforts to most effectively allocate students with available resources, I do not believe this proposal meets that goal. It is neither desirable for the community or a good use of our budget to bus students who could otherwise walk to school.
In addition to the comments in the petition, I wish to point out that forcing students who are close to Hamm to attend Williamsburg will increase the number of parents driving their children to school - quite the opposite of the stated APS desires at literally every school in the county. The rezoning decision is wrong for childrens' health, wrong for traffic congestion and pollution, and wrong for Arlington.
Moving children who are walking distance to DHMS to bussing 3 miles away is counterintuitive because: 1. There is a school bus driver shortage. 2. It goes against climate science. 3. It goes against child health science. 4. It goes against any assertion that there are budget constraints when you take away something that is free to APS (walking) in favor of an unnecessary expense (bussing). If APS has money to burn, I have a very long list of things the system is lacking that should be addressed ahead of this.
Both my kids went to DHMS (from Taylor)--walking every day. It was so beneficial to them in so many ways--exercise, socialization (easier to stay after school, go to friends' houses, etc) not to mention sleep. In particular, my older son went to Swanson for 6th and had to get up at 6:30 to make a 7:10 bus pick-up. Once DHMS opened for his 7th grade, he could get a full half-hour more sleep every night. It was so much better for him. Please don't do this to the Taylor/DHMS community. It's so unfair to kids who wouldn't deserve this under any circumstances, but have already suffered so much w/ pandemic school closures/disruptions. Pls end this wrongheaded proposal.
APS failed to uphold the agreement made in 2014 to the community to keep the Taylor cohort mostly together as these kids transition to middle school. This proposal fails to take into account the shortage of bus drivers we already have by adding additional bus routes.
APS already has a shortage of bus drivers. Taking students who can walk to school and bussing them will increase costs in an area where APS already faces a budget shortfall. APS needs to relook this proposal. Bussing students to Williamsburg who can walk to Hamm is not a reasonable solution economically or socially. Such an ill-informed decision also undermines the agreement made with the community in 2014 when Hamm’s site was chosen and walkability keeping students together were high priorities. Let’s be strategic about these decisions and not whipsaw communities every few years.
I greatly support this.
We live just north of Lorcom on vacation Lane. I understand rebalancing the cachement areas for each school to ensure the numbers of students are equitable, but I hope there is more consideration for proximity