This is my final ARLnow Peter’s Take column.
As announced earlier this month, ARLnow.com will be adopting a new approach to presenting opinions. I look forward to their new approach.
Author: Peter Rousselot
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On Nov. 16, County planning staff briefed the County Board on Phase I of the Missing Middle Housing Study.
Prior to the pandemic, County planners asserted that up-zoning to enable new Missing Middle (“MM”) housing would be a major contributor to ease Arlington’s affordable housing crisis.
This month, Virginia announced that school divisions can apply for “Onward Upward Virginia” grants to support literacy and math, “with targeted support for learners most impacted by pandemic disruptions, including students with disabilities, English learners, students who are economically disadvantaged, early learners, and those who are underperforming.”
The announcement of this grant shows that the State of Virginia continues to acknowledge the scope and magnitude of the effect of school closures:
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Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Even prior to COVID-19, APS students’ reading proficiency had been on the decline–a problem which Superintendent Francisco Durán has acknowledged.
Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Our experiences with COVID-19 and flash flooding have taught us that all Arlington policies should be implemented based on the best data. This is certainly true for Arlington’s environmental policies.
Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
As ARLnow reported, APS unveiled plummeting 2020-2021 SOL test scores just days before the academic year began. Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction concluded that Virginia’s SOLs “tell us… students need to be in the classroom without disruption to learn effectively.”
Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Arlington County government should increase substantially the amount of Arlington taxpayer dollars devoted to providing housing for our lowest income Arlington households — those living on 30% or less of Area Median Income (AMI).
Peter’s Take is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.
Over the past 18 months — due to the pandemic — the majority of APS students, particularly minority populations and those with disabilities, have suffered severe learning losses.
It’s long past time to get big money out of our politics in Virginia.
During her 2020 Presidential campaign, Senator Elizabeth Warren explained why we need robust campaign finance reform: “[B]efore the legislative process even starts — lobbyists and billionaires try to buy off politicians during elections. Candidates and elected officials often spend hours and hours a day doing call time with big donors, instead of learning about policy and working for their constituents.”
One in five adults in the United States experiences a mental illness or mental health crisis every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people ages ten to thirty-four.
Arlington is not exempt. Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services estimates any as one in twenty Arlington County adults have a serious mental illness in which their symptoms seriously impair adult functioning.
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On May 5, 2021, APS abruptly cancelled its Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Class. APS has failed the children in the Communication Class by not arranging an adequate alternative.
What the AAC Communication Class offered