An approximately $50,000 grant from the Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington will be made by the end of the month, Friends of the Planetarium president Alice Monet said today.
Up to this point, the Friends had raised about $22,500. The group is trying to raise $400,000 by next summer to upgrade the 40-year-old planetarium facility.
Arlington Woman Hits Lotto — An Arlington woman who won $1 million playing the Mega Millions game is expected to pick up her prize today. So far, the new millionaire’s identity is unknown. More from WTOP.
Arlington Schools to Get iPads — Arlington school officials are using a state grant to buy about 70 iPads. Meant to increase participation in a state “Beyond Textbooks” program, the grant will provide iPads to a fourth-grade social studies class at Drew Elementary and two world history classes at Washington-Lee High School. More from the Washington Examiner.
Fraley learned of the honor today when APS superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy and Wakefield principal Dr. Christian Willmore made a surprise visit during her fourth period U.S. Government class. She was presented with flowers, a letter from Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and a congratulatory certificate from the Department of Education.
Fraley, who has been with Arlington Public Schools for 10 years, will now be considered for the title of Virginia Teacher of the Year, which will be awarded at a banquet on Oct. 15 in Glen Allen, Va.
On a scale from 200 to 800 points, Arlington seniors scored an average of 555 points on the reading portion of the exam, up 14 points from a year prior and 54 points above the national average. Scores on the writing exam were up 17 points to 538, 46 points above the national average. The average of 564 points scored on the math exam was up 16 points from last year and was 48 points above the national average.
Every ethnic group performed better in every category this year. Asian students posted double digit gains in all three categories. Hispanic and Black students posted double digit gains in two categories. White students posted single digit gains in all three categories. There was no significant difference in gains by gender.
Miriam Gennari, the Green Party candidate for school board, made her case for why she should replace incumbent Sally Baird last night. To Gennari, the biggest challenges facing Arlington Public Schools come down to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
“The questions that we’re going to face have more to do with our environment than anything else,” Gennari said. “As we continue to plan our community to become more dense… we have to determine how we can best make those transitions while not having a negative affect on our children.”
The nine-time gold medalist will meet W-L students and tell them about the volunteer program, which encourages students to build one-on-one friendships with intellectually and developmentally-disabled individuals.
Lewis’ appearance will take place in W-L’s auxiliary gym at 1:00 p.m.
The backpacks contained lunch bags, water bottles, pencils, crayons and even a gift card redeemable for donated clothing.
“The security of starting the school year well prepared will help these children to overcome some of the other uncertainties in their life right now,” Doorways services coordinator Kristen Barnes wrote on the organization’s blog.
At 6:30 this morning, school buses were streaming out of a county facility near Shirlington, on their way to pick up students for the first day of school. It’s the start of a ritual that will continue every school day until the start of next summer.
In all, about 120 buses will pick up about 10,000 students county-wide this morning. Another 11,000 will walk or be driven to one of Arlington’s 34 public schools.
Back to School — The nearly 21,000 students enrolled in Arlington Public Schools are returning to class today. Watch out for school buses on the roads this morning.
Arlington Parents Like Their Kid’s School, Teachers — On Friday, we reported that a survey conducted on behalf of Arlington Public Schools found that parents were very much opposed to redrawing school boundaries. Now comes more evidence that parents of APS students are happy with their kid’s current school. Asked to grade their child’s school, teachers, and quality of education, parents gave each a 4.4 out of 5 on average. More from the Sun Gazette.
Relocatable classrooms — superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy prefers the term “learning cottages” — are here to stay in Arlington County. The school system, having determined that the portable units are ten times more cost-effective than physically building a new classroom, has started buying rather than leasing the “relocatables,” and has started buying them four at a time for a further cost savings.
This summer APS added four relocatables each to Glebe, Carlin Springs, and Barrett elementary schools. One relocatable was installed at Nottingham Elementary and H-B Woodlawn, according to APS spokesperson Frank Bellavia.
Long-time Ashlawn teacher Jimsey L. Frye is being remembered as a devoted educator with an infectious sense of humor. She died unexpectedly at the age of 61, at a time when she was getting ready to greet students for a new school year.
“Needless to say this is a loss for us and the larger school community, as Ms. Frye has touched so many lives in her many years of teaching,” wrote Ashlawn’s new principle, Judy Apostolico-Buck, in a letter to parents.
Construction crews have been working feverishly over the summer to get the new Yorktown High School ready for students, while tearing down remnants of the old Yorktown High building. With one week left until students return and with a field full of rubble left to clear, it looks like the work may be coming down to the wire.
Check out the photos below, which show heavy equipment picking through huge piles of debris as well as a worker hosing down the rubble, apparently to keep dust down. Also below: a photo of the old high school, just before the demolition.
