Arlington Public Schools | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published November 18, 2020 at 7:30AM

A landscaping crew blows leaves from an apartment complex in Westover (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Streetcar Anniversary — Today is the sixth anniversary of the cancellation of the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar project. [ARLnow]

APS Still Planning for In-Person School — “Some have asked why we are proceeding at this time given the latest health metrics. It is important that we gather the information schools need to plan now, so that they have the time to prepare for possible transitions in January. Delaying the process would mean that we would not be ready to open our schools for more students, should we determine it is safe enough to do so.” [Arlington Public Schools]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 16, 2020 at 6:00AM

Arlington trees on a clear day (file photo)

Crystal City Development Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved JBG Smith’s plan to develop Crystal Gateway, a nine-story office building with ground-floor retail, at 101 12th Street S. in Crystal City. Community benefits associated with the project include the developer conveying 54,500 sq. ft. of land for Gateway Park, which will connect Long Bridge Park to Crystal City.” [Arlington County]

Teacher Groups Banding Together — “Representatives from teacher associations in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Manassas Park will host a news conference Monday urging a return to virtual-only learning. In a statement Sunday evening, the Fairfax Education Association said it ‘stands with our colleagues from the Northern Virginia region to ask the Governor to return the Commonwealth to a full Phase II of the reopening plan and to recommend that our schools return to a fully virtual method of instruction.'” [InsideNova]

Schools

APS Staff Worried About Unsafe Conditions As Some Students Return

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 12, 2020 at 3:55PM | Updated November 12, 2020 at 4:40PM

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Even a limited return to classrooms has some Arlington Public Schools employees worried, amid questions about safety protocols and the benefit of the in-person activity.

Thirty-three schools opened their doors last week for students with disabilities, as part of “Level One” of the return-to-classrooms plan. Classroom assistants are helping the students to participate in distance learning activities, within school buildings, while teachers remain remote.

Schools

APS Changes Course, Will Participate in Winter Sports

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 10, 2020 at 5:15PM

A high school swimming competition in 2014 (file photo)

Arlington Public Schools will proceed with all but two winter sports, with some modifications, after talks with staff and neighboring school systems.

Swimming and diving, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, rifle and dance will proceed, but not wrestling — given the close contact that wrestlers engage in — or winter cheer, since competitive cheer can be offered outside later in the year, Superintendent Francisco Durán said in an email to families.

News

Superintendent Proposes Scaled-Down Set of Elementary Boundary Changes

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 9, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated November 10, 2020 at 7:35AM

The latest Arlington Public Schools elementary boundary process earned some public plaudits, a relative rarity, after the number of students who would have been assigned to new schools was cut nearly in half.

The superintendent’s recommended plan makes enough changes to accommodate the new Reed and Key elementary schools, which open in the fall of 2021. Twenty-two planning units, or about 800 students, will be reassigned among Arlington Science Focus School, the Key school site, and Ashlawn, McKinley, Taylor and Tuckahoe schools. The move increases the number of students who can walk to school by 600.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2020 at 6:00AM | Updated November 9, 2020 at 8:53AM

Arlington, MoCo Hire Consultant — “Montgomery and Arlington counties have hired a consultant to develop alternatives to the flight paths at Reagan National Airport that have led to dramatic increases in noise complaints from residents across the region. ‘This will be a game changer,; said Ken Hartman… Montgomery County’s point person on the airplane noise issue.” [Washington Post]

Biden Breaks 100K Mark in Arlington — “It likely won’t be the highlight of his political career, but Joe Biden will go down in history as the first presidential candidate to win more than 100,000 votes in Arlington. Biden garnered 102,510 of them, according to unofficial tallies reported immediately after the election… Trump’s performance, both in total votes and in percentage of the vote, slightly outperformed his 2016 tally in Arlington.” [InsideNova]

Schools

APS Makes Decision Not to Participate in Winter Sports

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 6, 2020 at 1:30PM | Updated November 6, 2020 at 3:59PM

A high school swimming competition in 2014 (file photo)

(Updated at 4 p.m.) While many schools in Virginia will start their winter sports seasons next month, Arlington Public Schools will not follow suit.

Some parents and a School Board member urged Superintendent Francisco Durán to reverse course on this decision during the School Board meeting held that night. They argued that other jurisdictions in Virginia — including neighboring Fairfax County — are gearing up to play sports, and that not participating harms students in the short- and long-term.

News

New Traffic Garden Teaches Kids the Rules of the Road, in Miniature

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 6, 2020 at 9:30AM

Without in-person school, play dates and activities, many kids have lost their primary sources of social interaction and exercise due to COVID-19.

But volunteers in Arlington say a new traffic garden, a space where kids can play and learn how to travel roads safely, could restore some of the lost opportunities for play.

Schools

School Reopened Wednesday for Some, Others Delayed Until 2021

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 5, 2020 at 2:00PM | Updated November 5, 2020 at 9:20PM

(Updated at 9:20 p.m.) At long last, some children in Arlington Public Schools were able to walk the halls and see their teachers.

Wednesday was the first day of in-person school for about 230 children with disabilities in 33 APS buildings and programs, and administrators were happy to see them back. The day went smoothly, from health and safety protocols to transportation and technology operating as planned, said Superintendent Francisco Durán.

Schools

JUST IN: No Return to Classrooms in 2020 for Most APS Students

By ARLnow.com

Published November 2, 2020 at 6:25PM | Updated November 2, 2020 at 10:33PM

Arlington Public Schools headquarters (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) Most Arlington Public Schools students will not return to classrooms until 2021.

Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán announced today that the planned “Level 2” return for younger and technical education students “will pause through the remainder of this calendar year.” On the other hand, the “Level 1” return for students with disabilities will proceed as planned this coming Wednesday.

Opinion

Ed Talk: Separate But Equitable

By Maura McMahon

Published October 30, 2020 at 3:05PM

To paraphrase The La’s, “There they go! There they go again!”

APS has again embarked on an elementary boundary process that dismisses student demographics, one of the six guiding principles in APS’ boundary policy. This isn’t surprising. But it is disheartening that APS’ new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO), Arron Gregory, supports APS’ approach.

Schools

Group Organizes Against School Bond, Say APS Reopening Takes Priority

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 30, 2020 at 11:55AM | Updated October 30, 2020 at 12:23PM

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.