Schools | ARLnow.com

County Board To Vote on 600-Student Expansion at W-L

Published May 13, 2019 at 10:00AM

Arlington County Board will take a final vote this Saturday on a plan to add capacity for 600 additional students at Washington-Lee High School by building classrooms in its nearby office building.

Arlington Public Schools requested a permit change in order to convert the former administrative offices at the Education Center (1426 N. Quincy Street) on the W-L campus into educational space. The 24,600-square-foot space is slated to be converted into classrooms, a science lab, gym, and a “commons” area, with a fall 2021 completion date, according to a staff report submitted to the Board.

School Board Approves $669.5 Million APS Budget

By Airey

Published May 10, 2019 at 3:45PM

The Arlington School Board unanimously passed a $669.5 million budget Thursday night.

The budget includes funding for Arlington’s continually expanding school enrollment, with 1,000 more students expected to attend class in the county next year alone. Members also approved a $10.7 million pay increase for Arlington Public Schools staff and funded a study to evaluate salary structure ideas for the future, such as using cost-of-living adjustments instead of discretionary “step” increases.

W-L Alum Offers $1,000 for Essay Opposing School Renaming

By Airey

Published May 2, 2019 at 10:00AM

The Sun Gazette ran a mysterious ad in this week’s paper, offering W-L students who write an essay about “why my school should be named Washington-Lee” the chance to “win $1,000 cash.”

The ad did not specify who was running the contest, and only said submissions to be sent to [email protected]. When contacted, a man identifying himself as Tom Hafer of McLean responded and said he was organizing the contest.

JUST IN: APS Informs Parents of Limited Data Breach

By ARLnow.com

Published April 26, 2019 at 11:35AM | Updated April 26, 2019 at 7:32PM

(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) An “error” in the data inputted to the college readiness system used by Arlington Public Schools may have exposed the name, address, grade point average and college entrance exam scores of nearly two dozen students to an unrelated parent.

Superintendent Patrick Murphy was sending a message, below, to all secondary (grades 6-12) families Friday morning informing them of the breach, an APS spokesman told ARLnow.

School Board Approves $670 Million Proposed Budget with $6 Million Gap

By Airey

Published April 12, 2019 at 3:45PM

The Arlington School Board has advanced a $669,314,705 million proposed budget — a budget that features a gap of over $6 million.

The Board voted 4-0 to approve its proposal for the school system’s next fiscal year budget. One member, Barbara Kanninen, abstained. Final budget approval is set for May.

Amazon to Give $10,000 Grants to Four Arlington Schools

By Airey

Published April 12, 2019 at 11:20AM

Amazon is planning to award four Arlington schools with a $10,000 grant for robotics programs.

Abingdon, Hoffman-Boston and Drew elementary schools, along with Kenmore Middle School, have been selected for the grant along with 96 other schools nationwide, according to the statement released this morning.

Kenmore Middle School To Be Honored Next Week for Special Needs Inclusion

By Airey

Published April 3, 2019 at 1:35PM

Next week, Kenmore Middle School will be recognized as one of the country’s top five schools for including special needs students in its community.

The Special Olympics selected Kenmore last fall and will present the Unified Champion Schools National Recognition Program award next Friday, April 12, from 1-2 p.m. at the middle school.

Study: APS Technology Initiative Gets High Marks from Students, But Remains Polarizing for Parents

By Airey

Published April 1, 2019 at 10:15AM | Updated April 1, 2019 at 12:47PM

A student looks at an iPad (file photo)

A new study indicates most Arlington Public Schools staff and students find personal electronic devices helpful in the classroom, but School Board members say questions remain about an initiative to give iPads and laptops to students.

Dr. Shaun B. Kellogg of the Friday Institute of NC State University, which conducted the “1:1 Digital Device Initiative Study,” said teachers and students surveyed were “generally pretty positive” about devices, but that “parents who completed the survey were clearly more skeptical of the benefits.”

Photos: H-B Woodlawn’s Future Home Under Construction

By ARLnow.com

Published March 28, 2019 at 9:20AM

The Heights Building (the future home of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program) under construction at the Wilson site in Rosslyn

Construction is proceeding as planned on The Heights Building, the name of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program’s new home at the former Wilson School site in Rosslyn.

Located at 1601 Wilson Blvd, The Heights Building will include an estimated 775 seats for students, at a cost of around $100 million. The Leo A. Daly– and BIG-designed building, with its unique stacked-rectangle design, will house both H-B Woodlawn and the Stratford Program.

Hoffman-Boston Elementary Teamed up with Artist MasPaz for Mural Project

By Airey

Published March 26, 2019 at 4:30PM

Hoffman-Boston Elementary now has a new mural thanks to a collaboration between its 5th grade students and renowned artist MasPaz.

APS Parents, Superintendent At Odds Over Crew Funding

By Airey

Published March 22, 2019 at 3:45PM | Updated March 22, 2019 at 5:08PM

(Updated at 5:05 p.m.) Parents and Arlington Public Schools are at odds over funding high school crew, and whether the sport should be left to sink among system-wide budget cuts.

Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s $662.7 million budget proposal for the school’s next fiscal year budget proposes $8.9 million in cuts, though those cuts could be scaled back should the county increase its funding transfer to the school system.

Superintendent Pitches Class Size Increases in New APS Budget, Presses County For More Cash

By Alex Koma

Published March 1, 2019 at 9:00AM | Updated March 1, 2019 at 10:02AM

(Updated at 10 a.m.) Arlington schools will likely face class size increases and could see some staff layoffs next year under terms laid out in Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s proposed budget for the new fiscal year.

Murphy delivered his first draft of a new spending plan for fiscal year 2020 to the School Board last night (Thursday), arguing that even the tax increases proposed by the County Board won’t be enough to help the school system avoid some spending cuts. The school system is preparing to open three new schools next year to cope with persistently rising enrollment levels, which Murphy expects will create another challenging budget year for county schools.