A group of Arlington Public Schools parents has organized to vote ‘no’ on the $52.65 million school bond.
In recent days Vote No Arlington launched a last-minute online campaign against the county’s 2020 public school bond, to voice their frustration with how APS is handling the return to school.
While students with disabilities are still set to return to classrooms next week, further return-to-school phases are now on hold.
Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán made the announcement in an email to families Tuesday evening.
A 61% majority of Arlington Public Schools teachers prefer to continue distance teaching or telework, according to a survey recently conducted by APS.
Almost 4,300 employees, or 63% of APS staff, completed the survey. Teachers and assistants had the highest participation rates, 87% and 86% respectively, and while teachers had a stronger preference for distance learning over in-person teaching, assistants were split 50-50.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools is set to add four non-Christian religious holidays to its calendar during the next school year.
The school system is currently surveying families, community members and employees about the draft calendar, which calls for a school year that starts on Aug. 23 and runs through June 17.
Update at 2:35 p.m. — Kids will be back in class (virtually) tomorrow.
“Our service provider repaired the damaged cable overnight and restored service late this morning,” Arlington Public Schools said Wednesday afternoon. “As of 1 p.m., APS network services have been restored. Distance learning will resume for all students, tomorrow, Oct. 22.”
High school students in Arlington Public Schools say they are getting too many assignments and not enough time to do them during virtual learning.
More than 3,000 students and parents have signed a Change.org petition asking Arlington Public Schools to adhere to its high school homework “expectations,” as stated online.
Depending on local health conditions, Arlington Public Schools students who opt for hybrid instruction could start entering classrooms between the end of October and mid-January.
The staggered return times, along with more details about the school system’s preparations, were announced on Friday during a town hall for parents with Superintendent Francisco Durán and his staff.
High school athletes can start working out in-person next week, regardless of whether they chose distance- or hybrid-learning, Arlington Public Schools has announced.
Starting Monday, Oct. 12, APS will be using stadiums, tracks and fields for student workouts and athletic activities. While students exercise, the facilities will be closed to public use.
Amazon is continuing a string of local donations with a $1 million commitment to Arlington and Alexandria public schools.
The company’s million-dollar donation to schools in HQ2’s backyard follows a more than $2.5 million donation to schools near “HQ1” in the Seattle area.
(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) About 1,400 elementary students would be reassigned to new school buildings next fall, according to a proposed change in boundaries that Arlington Public Schools released Monday evening.
The boundary proposal follows an elementary school building swap approved by the School Board in February, to account for the new Reed School building in Westover coming online and the former home of the Key Spanish immersion program near Courthouse being converted to a neighborhood school.
Fewer kids will be able to take the bus when in-person classes resume at Arlington Public Schools.
APS says that it is expanding the “walk zones” for 16 of its 24 elementary schools, as buses will only be able to carry 11 students at a time due to social distancing guidelines.
Arlington County is considering a plan to host some children of working parents in community centers for supervised learning, while Arlington Public Schools readies its plan for a return to in-person learning.
The use of community centers would be a relief valve for families that are unable to have a parent stay home during the day and do not have the means to pay for daytime child care. It would serve as an interim step until APS again offers full-time, in-person learning — whenever that may be.
